A New Manhattan (revised)
by Taruyison
Summary: Alex Mercer, amnesiac, is trying to find out what happened to him and what he has become since waking up in a morgue. Desmond Miles, suffering from post traumatic stress, needs to get over his fears in order to save the world. Will they find strength in each other, or will they both fall and destroy each other? - Revised and reuploaded as of August 2018
1. Arrival

**A/N:**

So if you've followed my previous account, you've probably seen this story before. However, it's gone through a few changes and edits since it was first published. Chapters 1 through 7 has been revised and multiple new chapters has been posted. It's not definitely necessary that you reread every single chapter, but if you want to make sure not to miss anything... It's all up to you of course.

Enjoy your reading x

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 1 - Arrival**

* * *

Manhattan was on fire. Every block in the district was figuratively and literally in flames. Red, hot smoke erupted from more than a few buildings, and plain chaos inhabited the streets. The people were screaming out of sheer terror and ran in panic without further goal. They just wanted to get away. Away from whatever curse that was spreading rapidly throughout the city. The civilians ran while military groups fortified on the scene, putting bullets in anyone that looked the slightest suspicious. They fired their guns over and over, with little to no rest in between shots. The kills didn't please them the slightest however. Their eyes and firearms might've been focused on the many infected limping back and forth in the park in front of them, but their minds were in an entirely different place. More or less subconsciously, they were constantly scanning the environment for a bigger price. The price their boss called ZEUS. It was their key to success and a greatness they could only imagine. What they didn't know was that this _'object'_ was far away from their location.

Far away, both figuratively and literally.

-xXx-

"Desmond?!"

The said boy flinched at the calling of his name where he sat on a crate out in the hallway. A big yawn decorated his face as he slid down to the floor and headed to his left. He stopped in a doorway to inspect the room before him. To his right, pushed into the corner, were a big desk with loads of papers and folders neatly stacked in piles, post-it notes scrambled here and there, and a laptop. Desmond had always wondered why the brit used a laptop instead of a stationary PC. He would be able to surf the web so much faster with a more powerful computer. The said man was sitting on a rather uncomfortable-looking chair at the desk with his eyes focused on the screen. Desmond shifted his sight forward at the sound of rustling, and saw a raven-head searching through multiple drawers on the desk at the center of the room that she had claimed as hers. She mumbled while lifting papers, books and folders, and didn't seem to even have noticed Desmond coming in. He cleared his throat to get the female's attention.

"Rebecca, you called?" he asked curiously. Upon seeing her stressed expression when she looked up at him, his brows furrowed, and his stomach clenched. "What-" he started, but was interrupted by the opening of a door on the opposing side of the room. An equally distressed blonde entered and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Desmond, there's no time. Pick what you need and get to the van" the blonde scolded as she hurriedly helped Rebecca find whatever she was searching for. Knowing he wouldn't get much information out of the two females in their state, he turned to face the Brit, but found him shoving down his laptop into a satchel. He had painted on the usual stern expression he always wore, but Desmond noticed a tension as he zipped the satchel close and threw it over his shoulder. He groaned silently and followed the older man out of the room, down two flights of stairs and up to their gray minivan. The girls weren't far behind and the four of them were soon seated.

"Mind telling me where we're headed now?" Desmond asked, a bit annoyed, when they were on the road a few minutes later. Both of the girls looked at him, then at each other, and then back at him. His stomach clenched again, and he frowned. "Lucy?" he demanded, glaring at her with a stern scowl. She frowned back and just said they had to go. Desmond snorted at this and looked away. He always got the same answer. _'We need to go, there's no time.' 'We need to keep hidden.' 'Hurry Desmond!'_ Always on the run and in need to hide. He threw a look in the rear-view mirror to try and catch a glimpse of the brit's expression. Nothing but those cold eyes focused on the road ahead. With a deep sigh, he gave up and settled down in his seat. His eyelids were suddenly heavy, and very soon, he had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

-xXx-

The sound of bone cracking resonated through the man's body as a fist collided with his back. He cried out loud in pain, but was cut off as the attacker grasped his forehead and jerked backwards, snapping his neck. A black blur then covered the man, and when it dispersed, there was no trace of the victim. Left was the attacker, on his knees, clutching his head as an agonizing pain scorched through him. Images flashed by his mind, merging with all the other memories he'd taken from those he had devoured. A loud groan slipped out through his gritted teeth. Soon enough the images started to fade, and he almost fell forward, but caught himself with his hands. Now on all fours on the ground, he panted and gazed upwards to spot a woman. All color had drained from her face, and her whole body was shaking. She had undoubtedly seen the entire episode. He swallowed a sigh as he pushed himself off the ground. His action woke her up from her frozen state, and she turned on her heels to run screaming from the scene as fast as she could. The military wouldn't mind her, though. She was acting just as crazy as everyone else in the district - running and screaming. That seemed to be the only thing people did nowadays. Ever since the outburst it had been all but calm in Manhattan. He let out a sigh and started walking east. He didn't really ever get physically tired, but his mind needed some rest, and there was no way he would be able to get that out here. But he knew one place, not far from his current position, where he could sit down and relax, if only for a minute.

Moments later he descended two flights of stairs before entering through the door to his sister's apartment. It was quiet, and he guessed she was asleep. With a sigh of relief he closed the door behind him and headed straight for the bedroom. The door was open, so he stepped in and immediately spotted a sleeping Dana in the bed. She had pulled the blanket up to her chin, and her face wore a peaceful expression. He noticed faint dark circles under her eyes and realized she must've been up for too long - maybe days - researching again. The corners of his mouth curved up ever so slightly, decorating his lips with the faintest smile, but it vanished immediately when the girl started fuzzing around in the bed. A wrinkle emerged between her eyebrows, and she hummed silently. He wondered if he should wake her up, but the next second she jerked upwards with a gasp. Her breathing was faster than usual, and her eyes darted back and forth, looking around the room. They eventually rested on him and her expression softened.

"Alex..." she mumbled and dragged her hand over her face, as if to rub off the remnants of her not-so-peaceful sleep. She turned toward him to put her feet down on the ground and rubbed her eyes before looking at him yet again. "What are you doing here?" she asked, a big yawn painting her face. He threw a meaningful glare toward the window.

"A moment of silence" he stated. She didn't answer, but her expression told him she understood. Letting out a sigh, he turned and walked out of the room, aiming for the sofa in the living area. When he got seated, he took a moment to lean back and close his eyes, enjoying the peace. What he didn't know though was that it would be short-lived enough to make him in a bad mood yet again.

-xXx-

Desmond woke up by Lucy shouting his name. Curse this constant stressing and need to keep moving. Never stay in one place for too long. He wished it could just end. Just one moment of relaxation would be heaven after all this time. Running, running, running, never allowed to stand still. Hell, even when he was lying down he was running. Not as himself, of course, but as his distant relative - ancestor, to be precise - sprinting over rooftops and beating up any armed men that stood in his way. Why couldn't they use the same method in the real world anyway? He had picked up a few handy tricks through the Bleeding Effect.

His thoughts was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. "You goin'a stand here all day n' risk getting templars up your ass, or are ya coming with?" came Shaun's - the brit's - voice in his ear. Desmond instinctively whipped his head around to look at the man, ready to spit something back, but saw him already marching away toward a steel door in the concrete wall. He'd gotten up from his seat and out of the van, and now, looking around, Desmond noted that they had parked in an underground garage, or similar. Why always down below instead of high above? Didn't the cell service suck down here? Imagine how much better network they would have if they parked themselves on the top floor. Not that it would actually matter to him... How high was top floor..? Where were they...?

"Desmond!"

"Yea yea" he sighed and jogged after the others. As the door closed behind him, they were surrounded by darkness.

"And no one thought about bringing some light? Wonderful!" came Shaun's sarcastic voice. Judging by the echo, Desmond figured they were in a quite large cellar room of some sort. A sudden scraping sound to his left caught his attention.

"Matches...?" he mumbled. He didn't know if it was Lucy or Rebecca, but he could definitely hear one of the girls snort at his comment.

"You got a better idea?" the brit asked sarcastically, barely a second before the faint light from a match lit up a small portion of the area where they stood.

"Why always in the basement?" Desmond sighed, defeated, and ignored the wise-ass comments from the others. They'd gone through that topic about a million times before, and he didn't need to hear it again. He just had to get his voice heard, so to speak. Rebecca was the one to break the silence after they'd finished the previous topic.

"I'll be getting some groceries once we're set up here. Desmond can take some time off until I'm back".

Relief! Maybe he could exit into the building and explore for once! He didn't get much of that nowadays. His excitement quickly faded when Lucy warned him about going out while there was still light outside. _'There goes that'_ , he thought with an audible sigh. When was it gonna end? Would it ever? He could only hope to get a few moments alone before he'd be strapped back into the Animus later on.

-xXx-

 _Rebecca's P.O.V._

She couldn't help but feel guilty when Desmond was held back from going out. She couldn't exactly put herself in his situation, but the thought of never getting to leave for a huff of fresh air pained her. She hurriedly collected her stuff and exited through the same door they entered. Trying to look as casual, she imagined herself being a citizen on her way home from another day at work. It felt strange, yet utterly freeing. Having a normal life in a city where no one knew her. What wouldn't she pay to get that right about now? _'Certainly not Baby'_ , she thought with a huff. She would be foolish to think something like that would happen anytime soon.

It was about a ten minute walk to the store, and she quickly realized the severity of the chaos in the city. This district wasn't as bad as she'd read that others were, but the tension among the people walking the streets were growing on her. She subconsciously quickened her pace and flinched when she heard static static voice from a radio right beside her. Military...? She had tensed up so much she didn't even look where she was going. Struck with a slight panic, she fished up her phone from her pocket and unlocked it with trembling fingers. Her shoulders slouched with relief. The store was just around the corner of the building. She was just about to resume her walking when alarming shouts came from the radio. Static noise drained out most of what was said, but Rebecca could make out parts of it.

 _"Alert ... points ... highval ... arget ... reque ... back ... Red Zone!"._

The Red Zone. She remembered reading something about the _'zones'_ before packing up from their previous hideout. It was a necessary security measure, even if it scared her to no end. They would be able to remain hidden with all the chaos in the city, but now when she thought about it, she wondered if she'd rather be taken by the templars than one of those _'things'_. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she continued forward and around the corner of the building. Far up ahead she could see smoke erupting from one of the buildings. Chaos indeed. Pushing the door open, she focused her mind on getting what she needed and getting back to the others. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all.

-xXx-

 _Dana's P.O.V._

Another big yawn painted Dana's face as she walked out of the bedroom. Her gaze fell to rest on the seemingly lifeless body slouching in her couch. Besides his pale skin and dark circles around his eyes, he looked to be at peace. The few times they actually met nowadays, Alex had always been sort of tense and always on the run, never stopping. To see him sitting with his head laid back and arms crossed over his chest ... sleeping? ... made the smallest of smiles creep onto her lips. It soothed her to see him calm for once. She began wondering though; why? Just two days ago he'd been hellbent on catching up to whoever did whatever they'd done to him. Nevertheless, she was glad to see him take it easy, even for just a moment.

She proceeded to the kitchen to prepare a meal when an explosion echoed from outside in the hallway. As fast as she was, Alex was faster. It barely took a second for her to back up and look around the corner to throw a glance at the door, but it was already flung wide open and her brother was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	2. Meeting Point

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 2 - Meeting Point**

* * *

The deafening silence was the first thing she became aware of. Her head was pounding, and she guessed she must've hit her head. ... On what? Scrolling through her memories, she tried to remember what had happened. Desmond... She had arrived in Manhattan together with Desmond, Shaun and Lucy. To get away from the templars. Right, and she had went to the store to get supplies and groceries. Then what..? She couldn't remember. That must've been when she blacked out. A vague memory about a military radio also managed to press its way into her consciousness. But was she really conscious?

Rebecca's senses were slowly coming back to her, and as she moved her head, she could feel it was lying on something soft. Not pillow soft, but not exactly firm. As she pried her eyelids open, she was met by darkness. It was eerie how it didn't matter if her eyes were open or closed. In fact, it almost seemed brighter behind her closed eyelids... Her lower body was numb, but she could squirm enough to realize she was lying on her back. She was about to try out her voice by shouting when a blinding light made her eyes sting. Her arms instinctively reached up to cover her eyes, shielding them from the light. She heard a muffled voice to her left and tried to look who had spoke, but it was too bright. She blinked and squinted, trying to make something out, but to no use. She was forced to let her eyelids slid shut.

Where was she? Who had taken her, and what had happened? For now, when she was basically unable to either see, hear or move, she just prayed that whoever they were weren't out to hurt her.

-xXx-

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

An hour. Rebecca had been gone for an hour when it was just a ten minute walk to the grocery store. They all were getting worried and Desmond was restlessly pacing back and forth in the big cellar room. It made the others uneasy, and Lucy finally spoke up. "Desmond-". She didn't get any further, for he stopped dead in his tracks and shot her a glare. He threw his arms in the air and spoke loud and clear, to make sure both of them heard.

"I don't wanna hear it! You keep telling me to hide, run, don't stop, we must go! But do you ever stop to think about yourselves? Do you have anything at all to protect yourselves with? And while we're on it - no, I won't sit down. I've been strapped to that god forsaken machine for months, and not once have I been outside to be able to see, smell or listen. Not once have I been allowed to go out, take a walk, be **normal**. All I do is fight templars that aren't even real. Templars that have been dead for over a hundred years. I'm done Lucy! I want out! I want to find Rebecca and do something good, out there in the **real** world. I'm done feeling useless!"

Shaun and Lucy just stared at him in awe. The silence that followed were tense and long. The two looked at each other, then back at Desmond. It was then he realized tears were streaming down his cheeks. He immediately turned his back against his comrades and hid his face in his hands. He was such a fool. A fool to have thought he would be let out just because he wanted to. **This was a fucking prison.** A prison that he would only be let out of when he'd finished his task. The task of finding the location of the apple. The Piece of Eden that would save the world from the human race, and possibly even more. The destruction of Earth itself. The faith of the world was depending on him, and he was only thinking about himself. He bluntly didn't care. He wanted out. More than anything, he wanted to feel fresh air in his lungs, soft grass under his bare feet, and the wind gently caressing his cheeks. He wanted freedom. Just for a moment. A brief minute. Then he could go back. Back into the Animus and the memories buried in his DNA. The genetic memories of his ancestors. His ancestors-

His train of thought was interrupted by a hand laid softly on his shoulder. He flinched by the touch and looked up to see who it was. Lucy were looking back at him with a small, but gentle smile on her lips, though her eyes mirrored both worry, anger and hurt. He was immediately struck with guilt. They were both counting on him. Yet the thought of just one short moment out of the confinements of a building was so utterly inviting. He couldn't figure out what Lucy wanted to say. The restlessness were slowly eating him up from the inside, yet the guilt were almost overwhelming. She opened her mouth to speak when the faint sound of an explosion echoed through the apartment complex above them. A bomb?

Before Lucy had a chance to say anything more, Desmond was on the other side of the cellar, ripped the door open, and was sprinting across the hall and up the stairs that would lead him to whatever it was that had set it off.

-xXx-

 _Alex's P.O.V._

Fury lashed within him as he cracked a man's neck with his bare hand. Throwing him aside, Alex turned to the remaining five that was pointing their rifles at him. One of them fiddled with the handle, hands trembling and shoulders tensing up. A sign of inexperience and fear. Unfortunate for the hunter - an opportunity for the hunted. He clenched his fists and lifted his head to meet the gaze of the supposed youngster. Time seemed to stop, and they all waited for the other to make the first move. The sound of distant, quickly approaching steps broke the silence. For Alex at least - the military soldiers didn't seem to hear a thing. Pity their lack of enhanced hearing. He didn't bother waiting to find out if it was a simple civilian heading home, or the backup they had called for before they ascended the four flights of stairs. How did they even find them anyway? Patrol? No, there was only one pair of footsteps. Nevertheless...

In one fluid motion, Alex burst forward and grabbed the heads of two soldiers, throwing them back with such force their necks snapped. The three pressed tight on the triggers of their rifles, peppering .223 caliber bullets into the body of their assaulter, blood splattering over the walls in the narrow hallway. Gritting his teeth, Alex withstood the stinging pain and reached for the two older men's guns. They backed away slowly, but he was quick to grab the muzzles of their rifles and snap them in half with just the force of his thumbs. A frown decorated his face, and his eyes almost glowed with the rage that had filled him. Not even for a moment could he be left alone to sort out his tumbling thoughts. Always disturbances the moment he find any form of peace.

He jerked the weapons out of the men's trembling grips, twisted them in his hands and shoved them into their chests, clean through both armor, muscle and bone. The life quickly drained from their eyes as their blood stained the already ruined carpet. The younger soldier was left standing when his comrades fell to the floor. His hands and legs were shaking as his body struggled against the complete terror that filled him. He was going to die, then and there. Using the last ounce of courage he had left, he shoved his rifle against the man before him, hoping that he would stumble to the ground, and brought up a knife from a holster strapped around his waist. Alex wasn't even the slightest amused to get the sharp object shoved into his stomach and reached out to grab the boy's arm before he could run.

The supposed backup was now just around the corner, and he pulled the kid in to hold him tightly against his chest - trapped. While his right arm was locked around the kid's throat hard enough to keep him in place, but soft enough not to strangle, his left hand went to rest on the right side of the kid's head. If it proved necessary, Alex could break the youngster's neck with a quick snap of his arm - a reassurance in case the footsteps actually belonged to any military personnel.

Surprise surprise, they didn't. Needless to say, Alex did not expect to see a seemingly regular citizen sprint around the corner. A man clothed in a white hoodie and dark blue jeans. The moment he saw Alex, he froze in place.

-xXx-

 _Desmond's P.O.V._

His heart pumped, blood and adrenaline rushed through his body as he ascended the stairs, three steps at a time. Bullets were going off and he felt the panic rise within him. Did the military actually just execute a dozen people? The military? No, it couldn't be...

 _Don't let it be too late, don't let it be too late, don't let it be too late- It's too late. There's no more shooting. Please, let there be survivors..._

The thoughts kept spinning, making his chest feel like it was going to explode by how fast his heart was beating. He finally reached the top of the stairs, with his sixth sense guiding him around a corner, then sprinting through the hallway to round another corner. Then the blood froze in his veins. Five bodies, all in military clothing - two of them with their heads bent in a way that shouldn't even be possible - were sprawled out on the floor up ahead. Dark red blood splatter all over the walls and carpet, empty bullet casings spread out in a similar manner, and six rifles thrown carelessly on the floor. In the middle of it all stood a man, barely older than twenty-five, face and clothes covered in blood. Whether it was his own or from the soldiers', Desmond didn't know. In fact, he didn't care. All he knew was that his eyes were cold and hard, and they stared right at him.

He wanted to run. His instincts screamed at him to run as fast and far as he possibly could, but his mind quickly registered the military soldier held in a firm grip in front of the man. He saw terror in those bright green eyes. Rich streams of tears were running down his cheeks, and Desmond guessed he wasn't even older than twenty. An image of Lucy's face flashed before his eyes, and a newfound courage spread through his body. He wouldn't let this poor kid die. Not with his whole life ahead of him.

He was just about to take a step forward and tell the man to release the boy when those cold blue eyes flickered to something behind Desmond. Though hesitantly, he half turned to see what it was, but was met with the empty hallway. To his surprise, when he turned back he was also met with emptiness. The two men had vanished, as well as the bodies and the guns. All that witnessed that something had happened here at all was the bloodstains on the walls and carpet. Big, dark splotches staining the already dusty hallway.

 _'Was it all just imagination...?'_ he wondered, panic slowly rising within him. If this was a case of the Bleeding Effect, it sure as hell was a lot more realistic than every earlier experience. Was he going mad? Would he end up like 16th? Clay Kaczmarek who had written cryptic messages with his own blood in his holding cell. The one Desmond had later been kept in. He clutched his head at the thought. His heart pounded in his chest, and it was becoming harder to breath by every passing second. He was going mad. No no no no no no-

His eyes flung open wide when he heard the static noise from a military radio. Static, then a voice. In a mere second, Desmond had thrown himself forward and kneeled over the bloodstained radio. He had totally missed it in the mess after the men had disappeared. Unsurprisingly, since it was as bloody as the carpets. With a shaky hand he carefully picked it up, as if scared that it would vanish by touch. He held it up to his ear, hoping to catch anything that proved this wasn't just his vivid imagination.

 _"... edcrow ... elta-5 ... ubject ... Crane ... aptured ..."_

There was more being said after that, but he didn't bother listening. He had heard everything he needed to hear. Whoever was on the other end of the radio knew something about Rebecca. He was sure of it, and he was hellbent on finding out what. Hellbent to make sure he wasn't on the verge of insanity. Hellbent on being the one who would find Rebecca.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	3. Alex to the Rescue

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 3 - Alex to the Rescue**

* * *

"Fool".

Alex wasn't one to speak his thoughts, but the scene before him basically prompted him to. The guy from the hallway earlier had found his way to the nearest military base and had tried to sneak in, without success. Surprisingly enough he had managed to knock out four men on his way. He could have a bit of credit for that at least. Now however, he was being held by two Blackwatch troopers just outside the entrance to the facility. His lower lip was slit and bleeding after a punch from the trooper that had spotted him. He was shouting about some Rebecca and that they would pay for what they'd done. Yea, like they would give a crap about what he had to say. All they cared about was their bills and their booze. Pathetic.

Alex watched silently from where he was perched on a nearby rooftop. With his enhanced senses, he could see and hear every detail of the meeting. Why he was here? He'd heard radiochatter. Something had been disturbing the line that Blackwatch and the military communicated through during the last two days, and just a while ago, the main base had announced that they had found someone that could help. Someone new in town. He knew this because he had a radio in his possession. Stolen from one of the many bodies he'd left behind. Together with the experience he had, it was quite useful when planning infiltration or stealth attacks. Not that he'd done much of those recently...

"I'm gonna kill you!" he heard the guy shout at them. He actually managed to get loose from the ones holding him, and threw himself over the commander that questioned him. Alex expected to see him getting thrown right back, but the commander went completely limp under the guy. He then turned to the two troopers, but as he threw himself forward, one trooper caught his wrists and the other reached for his own belt. Something in his hand reflected the low hanging sun, and Alex quickly recognized the object as a dagger. The guy grunted in pain when it was shoved into his side. The trooper released his wrists and he fell to his knees, pressing a hand against the newly inflicted wound. Alex sighed audibly. Wasn't Blackwatch the ones who were supposed to protect the citizens?

Now knowing that the show was over, he stood up from his crouched position. For now, there wasn't anything left to do in this part of the city. He took a step forward, and the roof disappeared from under his feet.

-xXx-

 _Desmond's P.O.V._

He still wasn't sure how he did it. With only so much strength left and people shoving him away from them, he'd been sure he would collapse at any moment. But in some miraculous way he had managed to stumble back to the hideout. He didn't doubt a second that Lucy would be pissed at him, but he'd had his reasons. Not only had he heard the radiochatter, but he was also pissed at her too. That alone was enough reason to run away. Not necessarily to just get a moment away from her, but also the utterly ridiculous reason that he wanted to defy her. Bend the rules, break the laws, and get that rush. Ever since he ran away from the farm so long ago, it was always a thrill whenever he did something that wasn't allowed. It was incredibly childish, but he couldn't exactly help it. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure.

With a great deal of struggle and pain, he managed to push the heavy door open and staggered into the basement. Lucy and Shaun had obviously occupied themselves quite well with setting up tables, chairs and makeshift beds. Light in the form of three good old oil lamps were placed on each table. Lucy was at his side in a flash. He leaned against her, ignoring the constant blabber in his ear as she tried to convince him about how stupid and irresponsible he was. He just groaned for an answer. He already knew that it was stupid. Reckless even. Though, you would think Lucy would be at least a little grateful that he'd tried. Didn't she care about Rebecca? Weren't they like BFF's? Why didn't she support his attempt to do something good for once? Why was everything he ever did wrong to her? Why couldn't he just be _enough?_

His thoughts came to a sudden stop when his gut wrenched, and he gagged. Pain scorched through his body, and he felt pearls of sweat form on his forehead. His vision was getting blurry, and the room was rocking him uncomfortably. What-...? Blood loss, he realized and leaned heavily against the table Lucy had dragged him to. Shaky legs gave in under his weight, and the floor hit him hard in the back of his head. Faint voices echoed through his ears, but he couldn't make out words. _'Help'_ , he screamed internally, only hoping that he actually said the words out loud. _'I don't want to die...'_

 _Not yet..._

-xXx-

 _Dana's P.O.V._

The times Alex ever came for a visit he'd always been out for information. Ever since the time-... She shuddered when she thought back upon it. Since he had saved her from Blackwatch, he had only came over to her hideout to get more information about his points of interests. Not even once did he question how she was doing. It didn't really bother her though - Alex was Alex, after all.

Today though, he'd come over twice. Twice in one day, and not to get information, but to just ... stay. As much as it confused Dana, she was more than happy to have him here. They rarely got any time to talk these days. It was with caution, but she straddled over to the couch where he was slumped and sat down beside him, putting a little more than an inch between them. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and legs stretched out in front of the sofa. His head was tilted back, eyes closed and his chest heaved in a deep breath. She flinched as she wasn't prepared for him to tilt his head toward her and open his eyes to look at her. She could've sworn he was sleeping.

"What?". Alex's voice was tired, annoyed even, and his gaze was hard. It frightened her... To have his anger pointed at her. He seemed to have noticed this, because he looked away and sighed deeply. She couldn't figure out what was going on in his mind, but he sat with his head hanging, staring at his shoes for a long moment. When he looked up at her again, his eyes mirrored ... something close enough to guilt. She cracked a smile at him. Dana wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to say at that moment, but the silence were ripping at her patience. Eventually, she put her mind to the only thing she could come up with - the thing that she was actually interested in knowing.

"What's going on out there?" she asked, eyebrows slightly furrowed. His expression shifted to one of annoyance and he gave off a quiet snort.

"Shit. That's what's going on..." he muttered. She didn't doubt that in the slightest. She constantly heard people screaming outside, and whenever she looked out, there was chaos allover the streets. Plain and utter chaos. Not exactly in the immediate area around the block, but she could see smoke rising from some of the buildings, and hear screams from the people out on the streets.

His eyes shifted to stare at his feet again and Dana could see the anger build up inside him. Alex had been out there, and she could only guess how much he'd been through - the horrible things he'd seen. His hands clenched into fists, and the next words he spoke were filled to the brim with venom; "Blackwatch hurt someone".

This shocked Dana, and she stared at him like he was a man gone mad. Blackwatch? But they were hired to **protect** the people!They only shot the infected. Only the ones with symptoms. She couldn't help the words from slipping out between her lips; "But he- He was infected, right?". He must've heard the fear in her voice, for he looked up at her with a concerned expression. Or was he just concerned about the Blackwatch murdering people? His answer to the question made her blood turn cold.

"No. He wasn't"

"What?! Why would they shoot someone healthy?!"

"Stab. And cause he was being a dick". The lack of concern he showed made her want to slap him then and there, but she had a feeling there was something more to it. She didn't have to wait long before he let out another sigh and resumed his explanation. "He'd knocked out four troopers and were wailing about some Rebecca" he said, clearly uninterested in the reason behind it. Dana didn't say anything at first, hoping that he would continue on his own. Her better judgment knew that he wouldn't though. Alex had never been one for talking. Neither small talk nor something serious as this. He simply wasn't a social person. Dana was intrigued by this _'Rebecca'_ person however, and she wanted to know more details about the person screaming at a Blackwatch soldier. She knew Alex would quickly grow tired if she were to question him though. He was a very good example of the term _'fight-or-flight'._

She got up from the couch and walked across the room, up to a desk that was shoved into the corner. Stacks of papers and magazines were lined up along the wall, and there was a few pens and pencils scattered among them. In the center was Dana's laptop. She sat down in the chair and opened the lid. The screen immediately lit up. She almost gagged at the sight of what she last had researched. A - more or less - man with a face that looked like melted tar, bloodshot eyes empty of any expression. Swollen, darkened lumps of skin covered his neck and shoulders. Thick strands of saliva dripping from its mouth. _'It'_...? Since when had she ever started calling him an it? She had to believe he was still a human and could be saved.

Dana quickly closed the article and swallowed a gag. She was over her head with relief to have gotten something else to research. Her fingers danced over the keyboard as she dug into Gentek's most secret files. She thought for a second that they would have to improve their online security systems. The one they had was trash. Anyone with enough skill could easily get their hands and eyes on these files. They were basically public. At least in Dana's mind. She realized she had learned quite a lot through her days, and as a matter of fact, she was hacking through the walls of New York City's possibly most complex security system. Whoops...Guess they aren't that public after all.

After a bit of digging, she found an encrypted audio file - "CRANE-HV0646-1". Clearly something of interest when it was so highly protected. "Alex, I think you want to hear this" she called out, her eyes still glued on the screen. She swiftly decoded the file and opened it.

 _"Alert all points! Possible High-Value target! Requesting backup to the Red Zone!"_

A short break...

 _"Red Crown, this is Delta-5. Subject Crane has been captured and secured."_

 _"Delta-5, assemble and report immediately. Subject is to be prepared for transport. And be quick with this one. Another failure and you're out Sergeant!"_

 _"Rodger Sir. Delta-5 out."_

Dana almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a silent grunt in her ear. Alex had shifted from the couch to stand behind her without as much as a sound. It was eerie how he was able to be so quiet. She sometimes caught herself wondering if he even breathed anymore. Of course he did, he was human ... right...? She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind and focused on her brother. He had a scowl on his face - which, by the way, seemed to be the only expression he was truly capable of - and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides. She saw the twitch in his muscles right before he turned, and she was quickly on her feet and reached out to grab his arm.

"Alex" she demanded. He stopped dead in his tracks when she touched him and whipped his head around to look at her with a glare that could kill. Suddenly hesitant, she let go of him. Her stomach clenched uncomfortably, and she contemplated long and hard if she dared say anything more to him. Her lips parted slightly, but before she could utter a word, he was already on his way out. "Be careful..." she whispered just as the door closed behind him. Something had happened to him out there. Dana and Alex might not have been very close before all this chaos, but he had never been ...scary. It was something she admitted with a heavy heart. She was frightened of her own brother.

-xXx-

 _Alex's P.O.V._

It wasn't hard to get the information he needed to proceed with his more or less self-assigned task. Or, at least, it shouldn't have been. It would've been a piece of cake if he'd been in his right mindset. His sister's frightened expression kept flashing before his eyes, distracting him from reality. He'd scared her, and he didn't know if she'd forgive him. For what he'd done or for what he was about to do. He already knew what her thoughts was about killing and hurting. Her reaction when he admitted that the guy wasn't infected had proven him right - definite distaste. The reason that the guy had been at the base at all hadn't been clear to Alex until now though. The conversation from the audio file wasn't unfamiliar to him. He'd heard it over the radio before, but he hadn't paid any mind until Dana had pointed it out as valuable information. He could only hope that she'd trust him after this...

His plan was simple. Get in, get the girl, get out. Though, with his thoughts swarming all over the place, he was distracted enough to accidentally bump into a marine outside the base he was about to infiltrate. The soldier's harsh tone and smug face plucked a nerve in him, and Alex had to clench his fists at his sides to resist the urge to punch right back when the soldier pushed him away. As politely as he could possibly muster - which wasn't especially polite at all - he apologized with a tense nod. He was relieved to see the soldier continue on with his patrol, hesitantly as it was. He barely managed to suppress a groan of annoyance when the commander called out to his men to "gather 'round". It was a short briefing, but informational enough for Alex to piece together where the _'subject'_ was being held. He was pointed out together with two other marines to relieve the watch inside. _'Smooth'_ , he thought. Finally, something was going according to plan.

"'Avn't seen yer face befo'. Ye new 'ere?" one of the soldiers said suddenly when they were walking through a hallway inside the facility. His bright green eyes studied Alex with great interest. It was not that he wasn't used to being inspected or interrogated, but something with that gaze made him uncomfortable. He pushed back the urge to squirm, and settled with giving a slight nod.

"Fresh outta college" he lied and kept his gaze focused ahead - he didn't feel any need to make eye contact anytime soon.

The man gave an acknowledging grunt before plowing on, "Yer nat from 'ere then. What school did ye study at? Must've been harsh getting sent into the chaos first thing, eh?".

"Med-school. Though I always wanted to be a soldier. Do my duty n' save the world". He shrugged and the marine nodded thoughtfully.

"Yer a good lad, son" he said softly, giving a light tap with his palm on Alex's shoulder. Once again, he had to fight the urge to squirm. He wouldn't realize until much later how true those words were to him. Or rather, how true they would become.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	4. Reunion

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 4 - Reunion**

* * *

After a few more increasingly intimate questions, they finally arrived at the watch station. Alex was on the verge to punch them all flat in the face just to shut them up and get rid of them, but he knew all too well what the consequences were of such an action. He'd have to keep his cool until the time was right, and this wasn't it. He had to reach a bit further before he could lash out on people. Wait for the other marines to get out, knock out his squad, take a few more turns, then the door to the right. It would probably be heavily guarded through the entire facility, so the choices were to act like the soldier he was disguised as, or knock them all out. Once he had found the girl, he'd be totally fine with blowing this entire place to bits. It was loud, crowded and literally in the way of every plan he made. Whose idea was it to place a base in the middle of the island anyway?

That thought made the decision for him. As soon as the other team had left the site, Alex shoved the butt of his rifle into the face of the marine to his right with such force he was sure he heard bone cracking. The soldier bent forward, gripping his nose and cried in pain. Alex took this opportunity to jab his elbow into the back of his head, effectively knocking him out. The other man had froze with shock at first, but now had his gun pointed at Alex. For a brief second, the soldier stared at him, apparently hesitant on what to do and what the consequences would be to his eventual actions. The ice blue eyes hadn't looked away from the hallway ahead, but when they did, the man froze again. Horrible mistake. A fist punched him straight in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out flat. "Amateurs" Alex grumbled and turned away from the scene.

Only to be met with two more marines who had their rifles pointed at him. He looked at each one of them, contemplating his choices. He decided to go for the most entertaining result and opened his mouth to speak. They opened fire before he had a chance to explain though. Bullets peppered into his abdomen, dark blood splattering over the floor and walls. He staggered backwards a step and gritted his teeth to withstand the pain. They kept their fingers pressed on the trigger for a few long seconds, and when they finally stopped, he fell to his knees. Panting and wheezing he looked up at them with a glare that could kill. Quick as a snake jabbing at its prey, Alex was on his feet and gripped their throats, lifting them both from the ground. The rifles dropped with a clang as they reached for the hands that were restraining their airways. They didn't struggle for much more than a second before they were knocked unconscious by their assaulter as he jabbed their heads together. He dropped them unceremoniously and walked away without as much as a look over his shoulder. It was time to get what he had come for.

-xXx-

 _Rebecca's P.O.V._

As her conscience slowly resurfaced, Rebecca was prepared for what she expected to come. The stinging of a needle in her arm and the throbbing silence in her head. But it never came. She waited - patiently as she could be - for it to come. But it never did. Surprise slowly overwhelmed her, and she dared crack an eye open to check her surroundings. The first thing she saw was light. Not the blinding light from earlier, but a warm, natural light, as from the cowering sun hanging just above the horizon. She dared open the other eye as well and became aware that she wasn't anymore strapped down to a cold, hard bench. As her senses were slowly coming back, she felt something hold the back of her knees firmly, as if she would fall if the support wasn't there. Her vision and sense of positioning flowed through her with the speed of light, and she became aware that the world was rocking her. The sun blinded where it studied her between two buildings. Wait, buildings? She didn't remember ever getting out of the darkness. Had it all just been a dream?

Her gut suddenly turned outside in, and she gagged. The grip at the back of her knees disappeared and something hit her side when the world shifted. Awareness flowed her back to reality when her stomach wrenched and throbbed as it emptied its contents the same way it had once entered. She coughed and panted when she was finished and lifted her head to see where the hell she was. Her eyes registered concrete, metal - a rooftop. What was she doing on a rooftop? How did she get here? A creeping feeling in her neck told her someone was looking at her, and she whirled around to sit on her bum, leaning back on her hands. Before her stood a man. He was dressed in a black jacket made from a material that looked very much like leather - two horizontal white lines around each of his upper arms. Under the jacket was a gray hoodie, and she could hint a white button-up inunder it. Accompanied with this was gray jeans and black sneakers. It was lazily worn, hood over his head to shade most of his face. From where she was sitting however, she could see his icy blue eyes staring her down from top to toe. Who was he? He was ... handsome...

She was about to open her mouth to ask him, but he was quicker. "Get up" he said sharply. His voice was dark, almost ragged, and it sent a shiver down her spine. If she was ever frightened before seeing him - before hearing him speak - she was now terrified out of her guts. Yet, something deep within sparked to life. Something warm and playful was skittering about in her stomach. Then it reached up to her chest. Every muscle in her body that could've been tense were suddenly relaxed. He didn't have to ask twice. She rose to her feet on unsteady legs... Too fast. Her head went for a spin, knocking out her vision. Instinctively, her hands reached out for whatever she could grab to keep herself from falling. She pulled herself in before she could stagger, and her chin was pressed against the cold surface of a leather jacket. It smelled of gunpowder, sweat, blood and leather - of course. She stayed like that for a good moment, inhaling the scent like it was sugary candy.

Her mind then caught up with her actions and she released her grip and staggered backwards. Her cheeks heated and she looked away in a try to avoid the awkward stare she knew she would get. With her arms crossed over her chest she stammered up a silent apology, and an awkward silence followed. A second felt like hours, and when he finally spoke, his voice was harsh and cold, as if he'd lost all means of emotion. "Come on" he said. Her gut clenched uncomfortably when she looked up to see his backside. He was walking away, and after a brief inspection of her surroundings, she realized there was no other choice but to follow him - _awkward._

-xXx-

Shaun and Lucy had been lashing out at each other for quite some time when they heard the door open. They both turned, ready to face whatever templar that had found their hideout. Though, the tension quickly shifted to relief when they saw it was Rebecca who stood in the opening. Lucy froze for about half a second before both of the girls sprinted toward each other. The embrace was tight and full of love, concern and other emotions. They pulled away from each other, and Lucy immediately started questioning the other. Rebecca interrupted with a laugh.

"I'm okay Luce, promise" she reassured her friend with a bright smile. She was about to start rambling about whatever came to mind, when her eyes came to rest on a figure on one of the mattresses on the floor. Her smile vanished when she recognized the man as Desmond. She gave a short gasp and hurried over to him. The bloodied bandage around his waist was the first thing she noticed and she instinctively checked his pulse. It was weak, but steady. "What happened to him?" she mumbled, almost inaudibly. The three Assassins were surprised to hear a fourth voice answer her question.

"Blackwatch"

They turned to the door, again ready to take on the templar. The man standing in the shadow of the doorframe didn't strike them as a typical threat, but Lucy felt a shiver trail down her spine upon seeing those icy blue eyes. They looked at something - or someone - behind her, but she couldn't deny the uneasiness that whelmed over her. They were cold, almost empty of any emotion, and seemed ... hungry. It made the blood curl in her veins, her heart pumping adrenaline through every inch of her body. Being scared was nothing new to her, but this- This was something else. Something new. Something foreign...

She flinched when his eyes flickered and narrowed, as if he was concerned over what he saw. Concerned or not, he wasn't welcome here. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she was about to march up and confront him, but he turned his back to them and closed the door. Shit, what if he was a templar? Now everyone would know where they were. They had to get away, and quickly so. She turned and opened her mouth to speak, but her words vaporized when she saw the look on Rebecca's face. Her cheeks were flushed with a faint red and her chin rested in her palm. The light gray eyes intensely focused on Desmond's bandages, as if she was trying to heal the wound with just her gaze. She was apparently flustered and in deep thought. When Lucy laid a hand on her upper arm, she flinched and her eyes darted up to meet Lucy's.

"He saved me.." she whispered almost inaudibly. Lucy slowly shook her head in confusion. "That man. He rescued me from the ones that had me captured, I-". Before Rebecca could say anything more they noticed Desmond squirm beside them. Brown eyes blinked open and he sat up with a grunt of pain. Shaun was suddenly at his side, a hand on his shoulder and told him he wasn't fit to run about yet. Lucy furrowed her brows with concern, but was distracted from whatever she was about to say when Rebecca pulled her by the arm.

"I have to talk to him" she said when they were out of earshot from the guys. Lucy was confused at first, but quickly realized what her friend was talking about.

"That freak?! You can't be serious?" she retorted, voice low, but harsh enough that the raven head would hopefully reconsider.

"But I am Luce! That **man** got me out of whatever place I was being held in. I never thanked him-"

"Are you listening to yourself Bec? That guy gives me the creeps, and you want to- To **find** him?"

"You weren't out there Lucy. You weren't captured by the Templars. Or... Black-whatever. I was, and I am so glad that I'm not pumped with needles anymore" she half chuckled, half weeped. To this, Lucy didn't have an answer. She just stared at her friend with jaw dropped open and a hand covering her mouth.

"N-needles-..? The fuck are you-"

"You heard right Lucy. Needles- And I will **not** go about my day pretending that it didn't happen. It did, and I'm terrified of it happening again. I need to thank him". Rebecca was hellbent on finding this guy, Lucy could see that. But no matter what anyone said, she had a bad feeling about him. Her gut clenched almost painfully at the thought of seeing - or worse; meeting - him again. She shuddered at the memory of those cold eyes. But Rebecca was her friend, and she knew there was no talking her out of something once she had put her mind to it.

"Okay" she said hesitantly. The raven head shone up visibly, eyes sparkling and a smile that went from ear to ear. "But I'm coming with you. I have a bad feeling about this guy..."

"You get bad feelings about everything, Luce. Chill out girl. Besides, I think he knows something"

"You don't say..." Lucy mumbled, glancing at the door pointedly. He knew where their hideout were, and they hadn't even met before. Either he had contacts in high places, or Desmond had called them out when he had been out to _'explore'_. It never occurred to her that it could also have been Rebecca that told him in order to bring her back safely. She had already decided that the guy was dangerous, and the sooner they got rid of him, the better.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	5. Feelings

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 5 - Feelings**

* * *

Desmond felt groggy at first, and didn't remember much of what had happened, but after a quick briefing from the girls and a snide comment from Shaun, he soon freshened up enough to get the memories rolling in his head. They had arrived to Manhattan with their minivan - how they did was still a question without an answer - Rebecca went missing after heading to the store - they still hadn't gotten the groceries they needed, by the way - and then there was the distant sound of a grenade going off a few floors above. Desmond had went to investigate and found the creepy guy in the hallway. He still wondered where he had went and how he could be so quiet. It was all rather surreal. Then the radio. A brief conversation - or perhaps monologue was a better word - that had mentioned Rebecca's last name. Stupid as he was, he had headed out the door and scrambled over the rooftop like he was some goddamn superhero, and actually managed to find what he was looking for. In the haze of his anger, he'd knocked the first four unconscious, but made the grave mistake of trying to attack someone who'd already spotted him. The result was one dead commander and a wound from a dagger in his left side. He still didn't know if he'd been lucky or the marine had been an amateur. Desmond doubted the possibility that he'd been stabbed, then left to bleed out on the pavement. They couldn't possibly be that cruel. Could they?

His train of thought was interrupted by Lucy's scolding voice, "Now that you're up and about, would you care to share what the hell you were doing out there?". She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest in front of him, brows furrowed and lips curled in a frown. She was visibly pissed, and didn't show even an ounce of either concern or gratitude. Desmond scowled at this and opened his mouth to protest. Before he could form words though, she interrupted by more scolding, "You are the last person with a connection to Ezio. If you die out there, we have no way to access the genetic memories of your ancestor". This silenced Desmond, as he had no idea how to respond. What Lucy said was true, and he had nothing to counter with. Except...

"We need Rebecca to run the Animus. Or did she teach you how to set it up?" he said sternly. Now it was Lucy's turn to glare. She pressed her lips together into a thin line, and her bright blue eyes seemed to stare into his very soul. But he wouldn't back off. He knew he was right, just as much as she were. For a long moment, they glared at each other, but eventually Lucy growled and turned her back to him. She grumbled something under her breath, but Desmond wasn't interested in hearing it. He looked away when Rebecca walked up to the other girl, and they started whispering to each other. He pushed them out of his conscience and inhaled deeply. The pain was already throbbing in his side, but he didn't want to lay on a mattress all day. The effort would be a test of his pain threshold, no doubt. He braced himself, held his breath and pushed himself up on his feet. A groan slipped through gritted teeth and the room went for a spin, but he managed to keep standing until his vision cleared again. The pain was pounding in his side. Bad idea to get up before he was fully healed.

Now that he was back up on his feet he heard a loud rumble from the depth of his abdomen. Damn, he couldn't even remember the last time he ate. And Rebecca hadn't possibly gotten any groceries with her after getting hauled in by templars. Speaking about, he'd have to ask how she got away from them later on. Right now, the priority was to get food. If not... Lucy would most surely want him back inside the Animus. She always wanted him inside that godforsaken machine. Not a moment of calm and rest. Not even with a fucking bandage covering half of his torso would he be allowed to take a break. It was driving him sick how hellbent Lucy was on getting him to keep working. He hated it. He hoped she'd calmed down after his little rant last night, but apparently it hadn't been enough. Nothing was enough for that woman. Not him, not his actions, not his attempts to do something good. The only thing that seemed to be enough for her was Rebecca. Rebecca that **he** had tried to save. That **he** had searched for and gotten stabbed for. He had literally risked his life for her. And all Lucy could do was to glare and yell at him like he was some damn object for her to rage out on. Alright, he could see her point about him being the last in his bloodline, but was that really such a reason to call him out and hate him? Goddamn if he knew. They'd have to talk once she'd calmed down again. If she would.

He had walked absently while rummaging through his thoughts, and now realized he was standing in front of the Animus. He frowned and looked down at it like he'd looked at Lucy only a minute ago. His hand subconsciously reached up to touch his wound, flinching as he did. He suddenly became aware of how incredibly realistic his experience in the Animus was. He felt every step his ancestor took - every breath was synchronized. Every wound his ancestor received hurt him like it was himself who got them. He knew it wasn't real; just his imagination and the realism of the machine playing tricks on him. Yet he hesitated. Now that he remembered how it was like, and proof how it felt to get hurt for real, he hesitated to enter. He didn't want to feel more pain. Didn't dare to think about what memories might be up next.

As if he'd heard Desmond's thoughts, the ghostly holographic image of his ancestor appeared on the other side of the Animus. They both looked up and their gazes met. He felt a burn behind his eyelids upon seeing the kindness in those eyes. "I'm sorry Ezio" he whispered inaudibly. The image of his ancestor shook his head and smiled brightly. The bronze colored eyes had delivered the message without having to open his mouth, but Desmond could hear the voice in his head.

The Italian accent soothed his nerves better than any booze could manage, and he relaxed where he stood. There was still time. Ezio smiled again before the hologram vaporized, leaving Desmond to stare into nothingness. With newfound strength, he turned to give another rant about how he felt, but found that neither of the girls were anywhere to be found. Shaun was bent over some documents at one of the tables, and the only one present in the dimly lit cellar room - apart from Desmond. With nothing else to do, he might as well see if there was anything among their stuff that might soothe his raging stomach.

-xXx-

 _Rebecca's P.O.V._

"You're not seriously proposing we need the rooftops to find this guy?" Lucy said as they were on their way back toward the hideout. They'd left shortly after Desmond had woke up, not just to get groceries, but also to get a break from the boys. Rebecca didn't really grow tired of Shaun's attitude, but Lucy certainly did, and she had to admit that he was being kind of an ass sometimes. But that was Shaun, and she didn't blame him for it. As for Desmond, he needed both mental and physical rest, so it was better if they left to leave him to his thoughts. He and Lucy wasn't on very good terms right now. So Becca had made the decision to take her friend out for a walk and get some general girl-time together.

"I'm saying we should check it out. It's where I woke up after he broke me out, and to tell you the truth, I think it's where he'd be holding up" Rebecca answered casually to Lucy's question. "Besides, I've been longing to do something thrilling, and this might just be the chance I've been looking for".

They soon pulled the doors open to the lobby in the apartment complex they were currently residing in. The whole building was mainly abandoned except for a few residents in the top floors that still dared to stay, or was simply too sick or too old to move out. The chaos that had broken out in the city was kept in control by the military, and while Rebecca was grateful for that, she didn't doubt a second that they were hiding information on purpose to keep the citizens from raving havoc. Though it might be a thrill to do something a little bit dangerous then and now, what they could face in this city was beyond her imagination. She had a clue, but she didn't want to dig deeper than she'd already done. If she got too worked up with things that troubled her, she wouldn't be able to focus on what was important, and the whole expedition could crash. She had to take care of Baby, and make sure Desmond didn't go under for too long at a time.

They had left the bags at the foot of the stairs before ascending, and soon reached a metal door. It opened without complaints and they exited onto the rooftop and inhaled the sweet, fresh air. Up here, things were so much clearer. Rebecca could totally see why the guy from earlier preferred the roofs over the streets. It was cleaner up here, both under their feet and in the air, especially now at dawn. She made a mental note that she'd have to ask for his name. Just calling him _'the guy'_ wouldn't work out in the long run.

-xXx-

Only two flights below, the said man slammed the door shut to his sister's hideout. Pieces of the puzzle was starting to fall into place, and he was aware of how inconvenient the situation were - for all of them. Why were they here? Where did they come from? Why in the basement with just emergency supplies and limited connection to the outside? Something was off about them, and he didn't like it one bit. He didn't like most things in this godforsaken city, but he could blame most of that on Blackwatch or the infected. Having people in the basement was a whole other thing, and he'd have to keep an eye on them, whether he liked it or not.

Dana was sitting at her desk with a sandwich in her hand, reading something on her laptop. As Alex stepped closer he noticed she had earbuds in, and didn't hear him coming. Upon closer inspection, he realized the contents of the screen was moving, and it was definitely not just rows and rows of text. She was watching a movie. Why was she watching movies when there were four strangers cramped up in their basement? For some reason he couldn't explain, this enraged Alex to the point where he couldn't hold back the urge to punch something. He didn't exactly think clearly, so where his clenched fist landed didn't occur to him until he exhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself. He quickly noted that he'd punched a hole in the wall to his right before pulling his hand back and diverting his attention back to his sister. She was looking up at him from where she sat, eyes wide and with the earbuds in her hand that didn't hold the sandwich. He met her shocked gaze with his own cold blue, and she flinched visibly. This sparked emotion to life within him, and he had to look away and turned on his heel. He started pacing back and forth in front of the sofa. He would have to get his head in order before he could try to speak his mind. Whyever he wanted to do that...

He stopped momentarily when he heard the barely audible shuffle of fabric that indicated Dana had rose from the chair. His eyes flickered over to her, but quickly reverted back to his feet when he saw her expression. Why was he so goddamn weak for this woman? A subconscious thought - instinct maybe - that even if he'd changed drastically, she hadn't, as she still saw him as her brother. That was the only logical explanation he could think of.

"The girl is safe" he mustered. He could hint the tiny smile on her lips before his legs forced him to keep moving. He was restless and concerned, not to mention the remnants of all the previous anger that was still lingering at the back of his mind. Anything and it could explode - fill him with a rage that wouldn't be stilled until his bloodlust had been settled. Wait, bloodlust? Now, what exactly was his mind trying to tell him? He had enough as it was, and didn't need himself to think he was going crazy too. Or maybe he already was. He wouldn't be surprised. A whole lot of shit had happened during the last few days, and before that, he didn't remember a thing. His name, but that was it. As surprising as it was, it didn't bother him. It should, shouldn't it? He didn't know. He didn't care. Should he care? Should he know? The questions kept coming and it made an ache start pounding in his head. He reached up with one hand to rub his temple and sighed in annoyance.

"The guy is alright" he rambled on and noted how his sister's tension eased up a bit. Maybe talking was the trick to get her to trust him again? Worth a shot. "They're both okay. They, uhh, have two others in their group. They hide out in the basement". Dana's expression had softened ever so slightly by every word he'd said so far, but at the mentioning of the basement, she stiffened. So he probably shouldn't have mentioned that, for whatever reason. He allowed himself to think back, and an image of the girl's face flashed before his eyes. Black hair, tanned skin - especially compared to him - and gray eyes that seemed to look right through him. He would've shuddered at the thought if it weren't for that he was busy pacing.

"This Rebecca... She looked at me like... Like I was some kind of hero ... to her" he said after a pause. There was more to it, but he didn't know how to put it, or what words to use. He'd never been good at talking, and probably never would. He-

"Probably because she was really grateful" Dana said softly before he could finish his thoughts. Once again, he stopped momentarily to glance at her. She seemed more at ease now, and was looking at him with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Alex, for saving her". He turned slightly to get a better look at her. "You did something good today, and you should be proud of that" she continued, a warm smile painting her face. It lit up her features in a way that he couldn't explain. He didn't find any reason to care about **why** though. It simply was, and he was fine with that. He felt like he was beginning to get on good terms with his sister again, and that was one of the few things he bothered to care about. For the moment, he was satisfied with how things were.

The very faint, yet existing smile that curved the corner of his mouth ever so slightly when he sat down in the sofa felt interestingly pleasant. His mind wasn't anymore raging with thoughts that might or might not have been his own, and the anger had stilled. He wasn't sure how long it would last, but he had decided to enjoy the moment. For just a while, he felt content with the situation. He was sitting in the sofa with his sister beside him, and she was telling him about different scenarios from the movies she'd watched recently. He wasn't sure if recently was the last week or the last year, but again, this didn't bother him. Not until she came to the scene with four friends in a basement. His lips curled into a frown and he was on his feet in a blink.

His hand was just about to turn the handle when he remembered. He turned his head to look at Dana and said, "Places to be", then headed out and closed the door behind him.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	6. Frail Thoughts

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 6 - Frail Thoughts**

* * *

In 2.3 seconds, Alex had made it up the two flights of stairs, but stopped dead in his tracks with his hand hovering above the door handle. His gut told him something was up and he focused his hearing. Two voices, both females. They were arguing about something. A guy... He suddenly recognized one of the voices as the girl he'd rescued from Blackwatch yesterday. What was she doing up on the roof? He blinked. They were talking about him. It occurred to him that now would either be a good time as any to introduce himself, or it would be a horrible timing. He contemplated his choices, calculated the possible consequences, and realized he didn't care either way. What did it matter if they hated him? He could just rip them to shreds and wipe them from existence if they proved to be a problem. The decision was made, and he pushed down the handle and exited into the light of the dawning sun.

Two pair of eyes were immediately turned to him, and he looked right back at them. The deep gray ones carried an expression of tension and fear, but were quickly changed to relief as the recognition dawned upon her. The bright blue eyes wore a similar expression, but instead changed to distrust and fear. The blonde that they belonged to was ready to strike if anything at all didn't go according to her plans. He knew all too well what she was thinking in that moment. Ice blue eyes flickered to the raven head when he heard the fabric of her clothes shifting ever so slightly. She'd taken a step forward and her lip twitched before her mouth opened to speak.

"Hey dude! I've been looking for like- forever for you! I realized I never thanked you for saving me from those black-whatever-they-are, and-"

"Blackwatch" he interrupted. His voice were cold and hard, but he recognized the thin silver lining encasing his word. Whyever he'd put that in a sentence was beyond him, but he could guess it was either for the hope and admiration in the gray eyes that seemed to look into his very soul, or for the blue ones that threatened to lash out at him at any second.

"Blackwatch then, whatever- And I also just now realized I never asked for your name. Who are you?". The tone she used was meant to be friendly, but the underlying distrust was all too familiar to Alex to go unnoticed. He frowned at this and shut the door behind him, as if pointing out that they had nowhere to run. Why he did this was again beyond him. He seemed to have been out of his head for the majority of the last forty-eight hours, and the consequences of that could be fatal. Or at least they should be. The last time he'd been shot with a bullet, it tickled. Hurt, but not in a way that it should've done. He didn't fall to the ground, clutching his wound in unbearable pain. He wasn't like other people anymore. To walk away with barely a slight limp after being peppered with a hundred .223 caliber bullets wasn't normal. It was **inhuman**. He was inhuman...

The headache was sudden, and it made him flinch. He blinked and reached up to rub his temple while image after image flashed before his eyes. It wasn't like taking someone's memories, but the pain of the flashback was enough to distract his mind from the people before him. He didn't know how long it lasted, but when his vision cleared again, he met the gray eyes of the ravenhead. The expectation hadn't left them, and he sighed before answering her question; "Alex".

-xXx-

 _Desmond's P.O.V._

He'd barely been up for a few minutes and he was already feeling dizzy. It bugged him more than it was an issue, since neither Lucy nor Rebecca was here to run the Animus. He rubbed his forehead while leaning on the table with his hand to keep his balance. The undeniable glance from the brit didn't exactly make it better. While Shaun was a real ass sometimes, Desmond knew all too well the meaning of that glance. He didn't know if he should be thankful or triggered that the words weren't spoken out loud. Probably both.

"Ever think about lying down, Desmond?".

And there the peace went to trash. He looked up at the brit and frowned in dislike. "Lie down and just wither away? Yea, that'd get much done" he said and dropped his gaze back down on the table. A news headline in big bold letters stating something about an outbreak caught his attention. He reached for the paper and picked it up to read the full article, but Shaun was quick to snag it away.

"Cause you're being so helpful, standing here n' thrashing my notes" he said, the usual sarcastic tone heavy in his voice. Desmond didn't fail to hear the underlying uneasiness though, and the way Shaun folded the newspaper to put it at a safe distance made him suspicious.

"Shaun" he demanded. "Where are we?". It was obvious something wasn't entirely right, and he wanted to find out what and why.

"As you were quite quick to comment when we arrived, we're in a basement, **Desmond** " came the Brit's brilliant response. He put way too much effort into pronouncing Desmond's name right and was suddenly very interested in an article he'd read at least twice already. The younger male frowned at this. He had known the other long enough to notice the signs. Shaun was generally good at covering things up, but the assassin-to-be had learned to see the details. His experience in the Animus had taught him at least that much.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, the door creaked open. While Shaun whipped around and reached for his belt, ready to attack whatever would show up in the door, Desmond looked up from the table and rubbed his forehead with one hand. The high pitched creaking from the rusty hinges felt to his ears like razors cutting through cardboard, and an agonizing headache started to pound under his scalp. His vision had started to blur, so he had some difficulties to focus on whoever had entered. He did however hear Shaun breathe out and saw his tension ease up in the corner of his eye. It was probably just the girls coming back.

The world started spinning again and he cursed under his breath while leaning on the table for support. He heard Lucy and Shaun exchange a few words, but ignored them. His pounding head distracted him from most things around him, and he dropped his head to stare at an article between his hands. _'Manhattan in chaos'._ Wasn't this the one he had wanted to read before? No, Shaun had put that one on the other end of the table. This was another one? It had to be, unless the brit kept extra copies of each article. And why would there be any reason for him to do that?

A voice in his head told him to straighten up - be prepared. He recognized it. He'd heard it before, long ago. It was in the Animus, back in ... back at Abstergo- The company that had caught and kidnapped him, put him in a strange machine and held him captive for months. He didn't remember-... Did he ever even eat..? Did they-

His thoughts were tumbling into a mess and he gave up trying to sort them out. He was feeling too dizzy to put any effort into it anyway. The voice spoke again though, louder this time, and he recalled a memory of a man a few years older than him; the same scar over the right side of his lips and light brown, almost golden eyes that burned with pride. White robes, a brown thick belt around his waist and a red strand of silk or some similar material wrapped under the belt and hanging down in the front and back. It suited him, Desmond realized.

 _'Fight',_ the voice told him. _'Fight and get up'._

Desmond couldn't make sense of the sentence. What did it mean? Fight what? Did it have any significance? He didn't know. He was growing tired and his fingertips were tingling, becoming numb. He heard Lucy's voice in his ear and caught himself almost leaning into it. In his current state, it was rather soothing. He hadn't actually heard what she said, but he allowed himself to be dragged to wherever she wanted to put him. He honestly didn't really care. For the moment, he was quite fine with lying down, and getting some sleep was a more than welcome thought.

-xXx-

 _Shaun's P.O.V._

"Relax Shaun, it's just me" Lucy said as she let the door fall close behind her. Her tone was too tense for just getting back from shopping with her bestie. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly in a faint smile, and she didn't seem to want to make eye contact. He scowled at her while she put two more bags down among their packing, and she mirrored his expression before changing into one of concern.

"Becca infiltrating the templars' lair again?" he asked while keeping his gaze on her as she walked past him to check on Desmond. Shaun had to admit, he didn't look too good. She dismissed him with a snort and urged Desmond to sit back down on the mattress so she could check on his bandages, and he obliged without complaints. He was **obviously** not feeling well. At all. No way he'd let her push him around if he was in his right mindset. Or the mindset he'd seemed to have taken on during the last two days. Shaun knew at least that much about him. Lucy muttered while tending to him about how much of an idiot he was to have gotten up on his feet before healing properly. Not that Shaun didn't agree, but he didn't exactly see the point of scolding an unconscious man.

He exhaled and got back to the table to sort his notes. Desmond had shuffled them about while looking through what articles had caught his interest. What good did it do to keep information from him when it would only lead to him poking his nose where it shouldn't be? It was better to tell him the truth. He would stop being nosy and not go about his own plans to get gutted. That way they all could focus on their tasks without needing to go on a rescue mission and play hero every once in a while.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Lucy walk over to check on the Animus. When he focused on her, he noticed her movements were tense, giving him the impression that she was nervous. Had they encountered something out there? She had been angry with Desmond before she left, but not nervous. Did she find out about something and wasn't telling him? News about the chaotic streets in their vicinity?

Whatever had happened, he was about to find out as Rebecca appeared in the doorframe. Her face wore a smile, but her eyes reflected Lucy's nervous expression. After maybe a second of hesitation, she stepped to the side, and Shaun realized what had made the girls so nervous. Black leather jacket and dark blue jeans. It was the guy from earlier. Shaun had already decided he didn't like him. There was just something ... off about him. His cold blue gaze shifted to Desmond who had once again fallen asleep on the mattress on the floor. The brit straightened up and subconsciously took a step closer to place himself between his ally and the stranger.

Whatever Rebecca had planned from this point on, he didn't like it. Not one bit.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	7. An Ounce of Trust

**A/N:**

Last chapter to previously have been posted on my old account.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 7 - An Ounce of Trust**

* * *

"I don't trust him" Shaun hissed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"None of you do, but we don't have a choice, Shaun" Rebecca whispered back, arms folded in a similar manner. She glanced back at the man in black leather who had taken a seat on one of the plastic boxes scattered in the corner of the dank cellar. He had his back toward the door so he was facing the people in the room. He obviously didn't trust them either. Any wrong set of words and he would either snap someone's neck or leave them in an instant. That was what the look on his face told her at least. She didn't doubt for a second that 'someone' could also be himself.

"I don't know what happened before I came around, and I don't know who held me captive, but I know he was the one who got me out". She paused to bite her lip and sort out what she could tell him and not. Not that she didn't trust Shaun, but the way he looked at Alex was one that gave her chills. The brit wasn't a violent man, but Rebecca caught herself doubting the safety of the situation if she would choose any wrong couple of words.

"Oh yea, he certainly looks like the rescuing type. Maybe he will share the location of the secret templar base if we ask nicely!". Shaun was clearly not fond of the idea of having the stranger around, and even less did he want to speak with him. Rebecca suppressed a sigh and straightened her stance.

"I don't trust him either, but he knows something that we don't. Lucy says we need any information we can get"

"Rebecca, the last time I trusted a guy in a hood I was bestolen of hundreds of worth of candy" Shaun snidely remarked. She just stared at him for a moment. Since when did **Shaun** ever have any kind of sweets? "Are you seriously telling me you never went trick-or-treating as a kid? I'm disappointed in you Becca" he said, successfully hiding his mistrust behind the heavy sarcasm. She didn't know if she should scream or punch him. This wasn't the time to make jokes. She suppressed a groan and rubbed her face with one hand.

"Not the time to joke Shaun" she hissed at him. Before he could give his lecture on how sarcasm was - as Becca had so neatly once put it - his natural response to fear or uncertainty, she dismissed him with an audible sigh and turned to head back to the center of the cellar. She paused momentarily and turned to him. "Trust **me** Shaun. He **will** help us" she said. With that the two of them went back to Lucy, who had been sitting in a fold-out chair and keeping a close eye on the outsider. She was probably more of a problem than Shaun, Becca realized.

She was about to open her mouth and speak, announcing why they had assembled here, but didn't even get to push out the first syllable before Alex spoke up; "Blackwatch knows about you". The way he phrased it made it sound like a threat, and Rebecca could practically feel the tension exploding between the three. Lucy would undoubtedly want to get rid of him as soon as they had gotten the information they wanted out of him - if he even had it. She hadn't trusted him from the start, and now even less. This would quickly become a mess if someone didn't step up.

"And we want to know about Blackwatch. Who are they and why did they kidnap Rebecca?" Lucy questioned, venom in her voice. Becca's eyes flickered between the people in the room, including the more or less unconscious Desmond on the floor. They should probably not let him in on this. He had enough to worry about as it was, with the Apple of Eden and all.

"Calm down Shau-"

"And now he knows my name, thank you very much. Who knows what contacts he has?"

"I don't think he-"

"Don't think? We don't know anything about this guy, and you don't **think** he can-"

"Blackwatch is a black operations unit with military arsenal" Alex interrupted, effectively silencing both Shaun and Rebecca. Three pair of eyes were aimed at him where he sat, and he glared coldly back at them. Clearly, none of them enjoyed this even a bit. Better get it over with so they could work on their own things in the dark corners they felt like sitting in. Rebecca took a breath.

"I'm guessing you mean a **secret** operation. Why are they here?" she asked cautiously. Granted, a so-called black operation was only deployed at a location in secret due to the government wanting to hide the cause of their presence. As far as she knew at least, the term _'black'_ was generally used for any government activity that was hidden or secret. She wondered what the higher forces might be wanting to hide here in New York City. A clench in her gut told her she wouldn't like it.

"Contain a viral outbreak" was the answer provided. This Alex guy wasn't one for words, was he? Rebecca already knew bits and pieces of what was going on at the Manhattan island. She had done some digging before they arrived to make sure it was safe enough to stay. The outbreak thing had been one of the reasons they picked this specific area of New York, since it could conceal them from whoever would be snooping. The government had too much to think about already to care about something as innocent as a van crossing the bridge. Again, how they had done that was still a question to be answered. Shaun must've done one of his tricks in order to pass whatever barricade had been set up there.

"Could someone tell this idiot to say something we don't already know?" Shaun spat, looking directly at Rebecca. She wanted to flinch and snort at him. If she had read the stranger correctly, he wouldn't bend to pressure. She understood his thinking, but his intentions were questionable. He was literally stuck in a dark room with three skilled assassins, and with a heavy steel door blocking his way. He would have to be both swifter and stronger than all of them together if he was planning to escape.

A flicker of those cold eyes made her blood freeze. He looked at her for maybe two seconds before turning his attention back to Desmond. There was a tingle in her stomach. A light, skittering feeling that brought her back to-

No no no, stop stop, don't think about that! Information- information and then he was out of here for good. Rebecca mentally slapped herself twice and slowly shook her head.

"Stay out of the streets" Alex said coldly, his icy gaze unwavering. Both of the girls scowled at him while Shaun crooked an eyebrow.

"That supposed to be a threat? Boo, I'm quivering" he said sarcastically. He had his arms crossed over his chest, standing tall and seemingly unmovable. It was strange to see him so confident. Almost as if-

 _Oh..._

Rebecca looked between Shaun and the stranger. The same rigid stature and stern expression carved out of stone. Despite the tension and seriousness of the situation they were in, she almost found herself laughing. The two boys were contesting each other. Figurative sparks shot from their eyes. She doubted that the two had any similar intentions or reasons though. This Alex seemed more about... Her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. Answers. He had unanswered questions. What could a man like him possibly want to ask?

It was as if he'd read her thoughts, or at least noticed her expression, for he was quick to stand and turn on his heel, about to head out. Shaun stopped him with a shout. "We're not done with you yet".

If looks could kill.

Rebecca was sure she had just spotted a reddish tint in that frosty blue. It disappeared as quick as it came though, and she got the urge to rub her eyes just to see if she hadn't just imagined it all. She saw his teeth grind together, and his jaw tensed as if he was about to spit something back, but just then there was movement behind the assassins; Desmond.

Alex was practically forgotten as Rebecca and Lucy rushed over to him. He looked and sounded to be in pain. A lot such too. It didn't surprise Becca though, the wound was apparently deep according to what Lucy had told her. They really had to find a real doctor, sooner rather than later. Depending on how well Desmond was recovering, he wouldn't get any better, but rather worse if he didn't get proper treatment. Maybe Alex could-...

 _'Alex can't be trusted',_ her conscience scolded. She knew that. He was a complete stranger who just happened to have been the one carrying her when she woke up after being saved. She didn't even know if it was him. Maybe she had been released, and his intentions was actually to kidnap her and-

No, he couldn't... Or could he? She turned her head slightly to glance at him over her shoulder. He was standing with his hand still on the handle to the door, but not as urgent to get out. She didn't doubt he would leave at the slightest hunch of anyone intending harm though. There was an icy fire in his eyes she'd never seen in anyone before. Almost as if he was plagued by constant anger. A will to get revenge. Revenge for what?

Her attention was brought back to a half dazed man as Desmond squirmed where he lay before cracking those brown eyes open. She smiled at him, relieved to see him alive and awake. They had lost enough already, and Desmond was too important to lose. And not just because of his genes.

Lucy held a hand on his shoulder for support when he slowly sat up. Eyes glazed around inspecting the area, either because he tried to recall memories, or because he didn't quite see clearly yet. He grimaced from the pain in his abdomen, a muffled groan clamped between gritted teeth. Rebecca frowned at this. She suddenly felt weak and helpless. There was nothing she could do to help him, either medically or by any other means. She was useless in situations like this, and she sometimes envied Lucy for it. At least she wasn't totally useless. _Sigh._

Then a bomb figuratively exploded in the room. Desmond's eyes found the figure of the stranger standing at the door, hand now clutching the handle and ready to fling it open. It was a staring contest of about three seconds, Shaun also chiming in by looking back and forth between them with the usual stern expression. It felt like the entire basement was holding its breath in wait for what was about to happen. Desmond was the one to speak first.

"You.." he said, voice a bit hoarse from his vocal chords being stiff from resting. "What did you do to him?". His appearance was threatening, and what he said was surprising. Had they met before? Maybe they had run into each other at some point while Rebecca was unavailable. That seemed to be the most logical explanation anyway, but judging by Desmond's expression and stature, such wasn't the case. Could it have been this man that had hurt him? No way! Alex wouldn't-

But before Becca could whip around and shout at him, he had opened the door and exited the room without a word, silent as a ghost. Shaun shouted at him to come back, striding up to catch the closing door. He pulled it open again and went to catch up with the stranger, Rebecca in tow. Though, as if he'd never even been there at all, Alex was gone without a trace. No sounds of running steps in the stairs, no footsteps in the hallway. All there was was complete silence.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	8. Relapse and Recovery

**A/N:**

Enjoy some brand new content. First posted on Wattpad on August 8th.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 8 - Relapse and Recovery**

* * *

A tense silence plagued the four temporary inhabitants of the dank cellar room. Their thoughts wandered, so many questions of what had happened barely an hour ago. The guy that had been introduced as Alex had provided short and cryptic information, then left without a trace. Rebecca even wondered if it had been real at all. Though, if it had been a dream or a play in her head, how would the others be able to remember it? It had to be true. Or this- Everything that had happened for the past few hours had also been a dream. Pinching herself didn't help. It all felt so surreal. But it had to be true. It had to be real.

Lucy watched with concern as her friend sat down on a fold-out chair to check on the Animus' codes and make sure all the software was updated and running smoothly. It was almost physically painful to see her friend so distraught. Her movements were almost mechanical; stiff and slow. Lucy didn't know what she could do to help either. The guy had been incredibly shady, and she didn't like his way of seemingly putting himself above them, as if he was some kind of an upper being. Not only was it condescending, but it was also incredibly annoying. What was his problem anyway?

Blue eyes trailed over to Shaun where he stood bent over his table reading through the notes and articles they'd gathered on their way here. Eyebrows were fuzzed and he wore a deep frown. She wondered if he were concerned about something other than what they'd just been through. Surely, there was the threat of being discovered, and the details Becca had told them about Manhattan island being overrun by some kind of biological plague, but there was something else on his mind. She saw that.

"Any news on the templars?" she asked aloud, diverting all her attention to the brit. He blinked and looked up from the table. He looked almost confused for a moment. Had he been daydreaming? Maybe just caught up in his own thoughts.

"No, it's as empty as in my pockets" he finally said and looked back to his table, grabbing an article on his left. He focused so intensely on it his eyes might just pop out of his head. Clearly, something was up. With all of them, not just Shaun and Rebecca. Desmond was holding back on something, and it obviously had something to do with the guy in leather. She'd have to ask him about it. Now was actually as good time as any, since he wouldn't get into the Animus anytime soon anyway.

-xXx-

Dana was almost surprised to hear Alex enter the apartment. The last few times he'd been silent as a ghost and had scared her half to death when asking her a question while she was sitting at her laptop, or when she spotted him in the sofa. For a second she pondered on why he was here again, the fourth time today. What concerned her more though, was the expression on his face. He'd seen something he was not happy to see. Not that he ever seemed to be happy these days, but the creak of his eyebrows seemed deeper than when she'd last seen him. He was in thought.

He had slumped down in the sofa with his arms crossed and gaze glued to a spot on the floor. Dana almost didn't want to disturb the scene. Not because it was peaceful - it was anything but that - but because it seemed like if she did as much as take one wrong step and accidentally made one of the floorboards creak, he would explode. As far as Dana knew, Alex had never been the type to think before he acted, and was more about action before it was too late. Then again, he'd always been brilliant and quick to think. Maybe he **did** know the consequences of his actions, but decided he was buff enough to take it, and proceeded anyway. That one seemed more likely, even if Dana still doubted that he would actually consider his options.

"What happened out there Alex?" she finally said, almost inaudibly from where she sat in her chair at the desk. She hadn't dared coming any closer in case it would risk a violent outbreak from her brother. That line of thought were heavy to walk through. He was her brother, but it was as if she barely knew him anymore. He'd changed so much since moving to New York. Whatever crap had happened here in the city - in the heart of Manhattan - it must've been awful. Had he been involved in it? At the center of it all even? Clearly, it had made an impact on him, and maybe even greater than what she had first thought. She had to fight a shudder at that. What in the lord's name had happened that could've made her brother so ... cold?

As if she wasn't fed up enough - when he rose from his seat with haste and took a step closer to her, she couldn't help the flinch. Wide eyes looked at him as if she was a deer caught in the headlights of a car. The hurt look on his face was so brief she would've missed it if she wasn't looking so intensely at him. It made the guilt smash into her face and settle in her stomach. Maybe he was different, but he was still her brother. He would never hurt her. If she didn't believe that, she might as well have gone crazy.

"We have to get rid of them" he said suddenly, eyes averted. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened - if that was even possible with how pale he already was. For a second she wondered what might've caused that. True, he wasn't one for glazing under the sun, but living in New York you were bound to get at least **some** color. He didn't truly wear that hood all year around ... right?

"Them?" she asked dumbfoundedly, eyebrows scrunching. Only a second later she caught on to his thoughts. The people he had been talking about earlier. The woman he had saved only a day prior. He had assured their safety and now he wanted to get rid of them? Then what had been the point from the start? Why? She could only imagine what the term _'rid'_ meant for him.

"Them" she stated, gaze falling to look at her feet. Alex stayed quiet, but she could hear a shuffling and footsteps as he started pacing. It was a habit he'd picked up and practiced quite often lately. She chanced a look and noticed the tense shoulders and stiff movements he'd adapted. Normally she'd take it as a sign of some underlying stress and possible anxiety, but was that true for her brother as well? He was quick-witted and intelligent, always knew the answers to the questions and solutions to the problems. There was a good chance he hadn't ever gotten stressed before since he always knew what to expect. She could suspect that this was all new to him. To ... feel. However weird that might sound to her.

"Alex" she said softly as she stood up from her chair. He stopped his pacing long enough to glance at her over his shoulder. If only she knew what he was thinking this could be so much easier. "It can't be that bad". Oh yea, great start. If it wasn't bad, he wouldn't be pacing, would he now? She cursed herself inwardly, but couldn't come up with anything better to say. She settled with a gentle smile instead. If he suspected things were bad, perhaps he could find out their names. If they just knew that, she could find out more about them. Surely, there had to be **some** information somewhere. It was basically impossible to just disappear from the web. If they didn't have some kind of an expert with them. That could complicate things. Greatly.

"It's bad" Alex mumbled, barely loud enough for her to hear him. Her eyebrows scrunched up into a scowl at this, but she didn't say anything further. He was in thought. "They're bad".

Could he be more cryptic? Bad as in bad people? Bad for them? Bad **at** something? A bad influence? Surely, nothing could be more of a bad influence than themselves, hiding away in an old apartment as they were. But then again... Those other people were hiding out in the basement. It **did** seem a bit shady.

-xXx-

For the third time that day, Desmond wondered why they seemed to always get into trouble when they arrived to a new place. At least it wasn't some godly being making ghostly appearances and speaking in riddles. He was way over that. Gotten enough of it for three lifetimes onward. Yea, no, no thank you. Curse this precursor crap and all of their concoctions. Why couldn't he just have a moment of calm and peace by himself for once? Just one moment. That was all he asked for.

"Desmond".

The soft voice of the blonde distracted him from his thoughts enough for him to open his eyes. He'd been ignoring the world and pretending to be asleep on the mattress, but maybe he didn't do very well with that. Or she was just speaking his name to see if it would work with just that to wake him up. It probably wouldn't if he'd actually been asleep. Fading in and out of consciousness like he'd done the last few hours meant half of the time he was in a deep slumber, and the other half he was squirming where he lay, unable to get any rest. As of now, he'd given up on trying. He preferred the ease of just closing his eyes rather than the restlessness that came with the strange dreams he was having in his sickened state. Maybe he was having a fever?

Brown eyes peered at Lucy, looked her over from top to toe. He noticed she was holding something - seemingly clutching it in her hands. It looked like a bottle with some kind of liquid in it. He couldn't be sure with the blur still in his vision though. If only he'd been more thoughtful. If he hadn't gotten caught, he would've gotten the information needed to find Becca and-

"Rebecca-" he gasped, trying to sit up. The pain from his wound slowed his movement, but he refused to let it beat him. Lucy put a hand over his shoulder in what he assumed was an attempt to get him to lie back down, but he shrugged it off. He didn't need consolence. He needed to know if Rebecca was safe. If it had all been a dream or if he had to get a move on. Eyes scanned the surroundings and-

She was here. Previously typing away on the keyboard of her laptop, but now sending him a reassuring smile over her shoulder. Desmond exhaled heavily and hung his head. She had either been safe all this time, or she had gotten out of trouble by herself. Perhaps someone else had rescued her? Wait a minute... He did recall a vague memory of waking up earlier and seeing her there. Or was that a dream too? He didn't know, and frankly, it wasn't important. She was safe, no matter how she'd gotten out.

"Desmond" Lucy repeated softly, and he gave a grunt for a response. He didn't feel like talking right now. Perhaps he should just listen and try to get some rest... She held the bottle out in front of his face, and he accepted it without another word. Unscrewing the cap, he took a whiff - odorless. Water? To be honest, he was rather thirsty - a result of the bloodloss he suffered from. The fluid flushed down his throat in big gulps. It felt like ages since he'd had anything to drink, his throat feeling drier than a desert. The water seemed to be harvested from heavenly springs - it was utterly delicious. He'd never say no to a gulp again if it kept being this good. It probably wouldn't, sadly.

"Have anything to eat as well?" he croaked while drying his mouth with the back of his hand. He was famished. Part of the healing process, he guessed. Lucy didn't respond, but went over to a box to his left and picked up a small package that she handed to him. He wasted no time on wondering what it could be, ripping up the plastic and digging his teeth into the now exposed sandwich. Ham, cheese and lettuce. This too was completely and utterly **delicious**. His eyes shut as he chewed in a bliss-like state.

"Did you make this?" he asked, mouth still half full and a finger pointed at the sandwich in his hand. Lucy's expression was confused at first, and he smiled softly at her. "It's **so** good" he added while taking another bite. She chuckled at him, then sat down beside him on the mattress.

"I suppose I did" she said, a smile brightening her features. Desmond couldn't recall the last time he looked at her - actually **looked**. It had been so much stress lately. Running, running and more running. They barely had any time to stop and take a moment to eat, and when they did it was hastily. Sure, the pressure was still heavy on his shoulders, but now when he wasn't at his peak he couldn't exactly do much.

He noticed the somewhat absent expression on Lucy's face and went to ask about it, but she was faster than him on this occasion. "You should get some rest" she said with a pat on his shoulder. He cocked an eyebrow at her. Resting was basically all he had done since he got back inside. Or at least it's what he'd tried to do. He'd been more or less successful lately, dreams and pain disturbing his rest. Couldn't he at least get a chance to **try** being useful? "We need you back in the Animus as soon as possible". Ah... Responsibilities. He should've known that.

"Baby will be ready when you are, Desmond" Rebecca said from her seat and fired a smile at him. Oh well, what choice did he have? He swallowed the last of his sandwich and laid back down on the mattress. Lucy moved to give him the space he needed and he rolled over on his side to have his back to the others. He really didn't sign up for this. He had tried to do something good, and now he was stuck in bed for it. He should tell them. Tell them what he had seen up in the hallway. He should-

But then exhaustion overwhelmed him and he fell into the depths of Neverland, dreaming about lost boys, sunken ships and magical fairy dust.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	9. Prelude

**A/N:**

I'll leave a link to a discord server I have for the story, in case that would be of interest. Replace the space with a period when you paste it into your browser's address bar. You also need an account with Discord in order to join.

discord gg/zpPzvwd

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 9 - Prelude**

* * *

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. The sky turned a crimson red, taking on a look of a gruesome murder victim. Dana was baffled by the scene. She hadn't been in New York for very long, and she'd been busying herself with work whenever she had a moment of free time. Now though, she had more than a moment. The view from the window was gorgeous. It made her wonder if Alex ever took the time to watch it. He was outside so much these days. Surely, he would have had time to watch the sunset over and over. Maybe he'd watched it so much it was becoming boring to him now. No, he wasn't a guy to watch sunsets. He was rigid, stern and as of late; cold. He wouldn't want to. There wasn't enough of a romantic spirit in him to take time for such _'nonsense',_ as he would probably call it.

Dana sighed. Two days ago, her brother had been at their hideout to tell her that the people he'd saved was bad. She still didn't quite understand what he had meant by that. It didn't bother her, but she thought about it. Bad people... Did he mean that they were bad as in _'good and evil'_ -bad? She doubted it. The girl had been **taken** by Blackwatch - kidnapped. Surely, she wouldn't be on their side. Blackwatch was the true bad guys. According to Alex and all she'd read online, they were trying to cover things up. Things such as this 'virus' spreading through the city. They were here to contain a viral outbreak, but she had a lingering feeling that there was more to it.

She snapped her fingers in the air. Maybe they knew what was happening. The people in the basement. She could ask them, and get to know them in the process. Genius! That's what she'd do today. It's not like she had anything better to do anyway, with Alex being gone for almost two days now. She wondered for a second what he was up to whenever he was out. Beating up thugs and spying on secret operations? Possible, but she doubted it.

She took a detour through the kitchen to grab something to eat before heading out, but found the cabinets empty. Oh buggers... She'd have to make her way to a grocery store or something if they were staying here. They couldn't possibly stay for another week without something to eat. Dana was already starving. Maybe the people had something? Hmm, she'd really have to find out their names. It was tiring to think of them as _'the people in the basement'_.

-xXx-

It was when he was in the middle of checking the Animus Database entries that he heard a faint knock coming from the door that led into the stairway. They all froze in what they were doing, Desmond included. Shaun slowly reached behind him for the pistol he had tucked in his pantline, and in his peripheral vision he saw Lucy stand, a dagger in her hand. Prepared for the worst she stalked forward, Shaun following a few steps behind. It was surprising, to say the least, when they heard a voice from behind the door.

"Hello?", two more knocks- "Is anyone in there?". Shaun and Lucy shared a look. Was someone actually asking if **they** were ... _'home'_? That leather-jacket-dude must've given them away. Dammit! He knew they shouldn't have trusted him. They can't trust **anyone**. Rebecca should've known that. She if anyone should know that. He had sniffed them out and now the templars knew of their location. They'd have to move again, and as soon as possible! Preferably before anyone entered the door, but that was impossible right now. They'd have to fight them off and **then** get the heck out of here.

"I'm coming in, don't shoot" the voice - female, he figured - spoke again, and Shaun quickly pulled the gun out. It was pointed to the ground, but he'd be ready to point it at and shoot whoever would enter.

Slowly, oh so slowly - too slowly - the door squeaked open, and through the crack a head was poked in. He couldn't make out much in the dim light from the oil lamps, but the person definitely had dark hair and a rather pale face. Light eyes. She peered around the room and poked an arm out through the door, palm facing them and held a little above her head. "I'm not armed" she said with a sheepish smile, as if she was stating the obvious. She pushed the door open further so she could slip in, and she now had both hands above her head. _'A wise choice'_ , Shaun thought to himself. She was telling the truth though, there was no weapons on her as far as he could tell. From this distance.

Lucy was the first to act, telling the stranger to stay still where she stood and walked up to her to check her further for any form of weaponry. The stranger seemed strangely okay with the situation. The smile remained on her face and she almost rolled her eyes when Lucy told her to turn around. Shaun didn't know if he should feel relieved or triggered. She was too calm. It put his nerves on edge.

"You've made it quite home-y here" she spoke, taking both Shaun and Lucy off guard. They stared dumbfoundedly at her and she chuckled. "This basement has been abandoned for I don't know how long, and in just a short time you've made it livable and super cozy" she explained. Cozy, huh? How did she even know how long they'd been here anyway? Talked to the authorities? Templars? The leather-jacket-dude? Was **she** the authorities? Surely she had an agenda, else she wouldn't be down here. And she certainly wasn't alone. She probably had a dozen armed guys standing watch behind the door. Shaun didn't doubt that in the slightest.

"How many are with you?" he chanced, pointing his gun at her head. She made a face at him, but kept her hands above her head. She was likely questioning their sanity, or judging their lack of trust. Probably both.

"With me?". He could practically **hear** the cocked eyebrow in her voice. Definitely judging. "Oooh, you think I'm with Blackwatch?". Now both of her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. "Those **monsters** are barely worth food for the day. They hurt people for no reason. Someone well and healthy. No way I'd sink to their level".

Fair enough, he supposed, but Blackwatch wasn't templars - not necessarily anyway - and neither was it the other way around. "And templars?" he asked. To this, she scrunched up her eyebrows into a scowl.

"Tempal-what?".

"Templars. Are you with them or against them?" Lucy barked, the dagger pointed to the stranger's cheek. She seemed to remember something at this, and again, she made a face, as if she didn't believe a word of what they were saying.

"Wait, you mean like... Templar knights? Like with armors and swords and stuff?"

Okay, maybe she actually **was** clueless. Shaun lowered his gun and sighed. There was no use questioning her anyway if she didn't feel threatened by their methods. Maybe she was-... No, that couldn't be it. No, he wouldn't think such lowly of people. This girl seemed fresh and loaded, and she was clearly young. Yea, no, that wasn't it.

He tucked the gun back into the hem of his pants. He was just about to open his mouth to question her further when Rebecca chimed in. "Hi there stranger! I'm Rebecca, and you?". She held out a hand for the girl to shake, which she accepted. "Gosh, it's so nice to meet someone new that doesn't threaten to shoot our heads off. You have such pretty eyes! Are those Nike? Is the hair dyed or natural? Do you like pancakes?". Shaun rubbed his temples with both hands. Typical Rebecca to be first out to get to know a new person.

"I'm Dana. Thank you, yes, natural, and yes. I love pancakes". They shook hands, and Dana even offered a hug, much to Lucy's disapproval. Shaun couldn't else but watch with awe as the two ravenheads chattered on about this and that, talking about their dreams and aspirations, their favorite music and what they liked to do in their free time. He shook his head slowly. It became clear that the girl wasn't a threat to them. If she had any interest in killing them, she would've done so by now. Lucy seemed to come to the same conclusion, as she lowered her dagger, but she didn't put it away. He figured she wouldn't come to trust Dana until she was entirely convinced. Which was unlikely to happen in a few hours, if ever.

Shaun got seated in front of his laptop again, scrolling through the hundreds of files he'd written and rewritten. Over time, the Animus Database had been filled with loads of valuable information. He found a strange joy to edit and fill them out with more content. It was fulfilling, in a way. With Desmond being in his current state however, he doubted he'd get to do so in a while. They had to make sure he was ready for combat first. And such was not the case as of now.

-xXx-

Desmond himself was feeling a lot better than he'd done the last two days. The dreams had vanished, and he didn't have a fever anymore. Healing would still take time, obviously, but at least now he could move about without passing out after two minutes. Not only had it been annoying, but it had also drained his energy like crazy. He'd been on and off sleeping for 48 hours after the injury. It was getting tiresome, in his opinion.

Just like Shaun and Lucy, Desmond stopped all movement upon hearing the knock on the door. Who out of all people would knock before entering an empty cellar? Shit, had they been exposed? Getting up from the mattress wasn't an option. The moment he tried, pain whipped his side, and he had to bite back a grunt. Whoever would enter through that door, he hoped that Shaun and Lucy would be able to take them on. He surely couldn't.

Relief was the only thing he could manage when the stranger proved to be harmless. Desmond knew what Lucy thought about it, but there wasn't much they could do about it, honestly. She was here now, and Rebecca seemed to already be making bonds with her. They'd have to use drastic measures if they wanted to be rid of her. And none of them would like whatever would come to mind if they did, he was sure of that.

While the others went back to whatever they had been doing before the disturbance, Desmond laid his head down on the mattress and put the sandwich he'd been eating to the side. He wasn't really hungry when he'd asked for it anyway. It was just something to do. The restlessness was probably the worst thing about all this. Bound to bed with nothing to do. In the Animus, at least he could knock out templars and jump over rooftops. Reality was ... a prison. He recalled what he'd said to Lucy during his outbreak when Rebecca was in trouble. _'I'm done feeling useless!'_ , he'd told her. If he was useless then, what was he now?

A deep sigh left him. He'd been such a fool to run off without any second thoughts of the possible consequences. He'd have to improve. Get better. Become stronger and gather more experience from more time in the animus. Not now. He still wasn't entirely ready yet. He would gather his strength, that's what he would do. And once he'd healed enough he could go in again. Yea. A few more days. Maybe a week... Month... Yea, a month would be good.

"Desmond?"

He almost jumped out of his skin upon hearing Lucy speak. He got up into a sitting position to give her space to sit beside him. There was a creak between her eyebrows he knew she only had when she was deeply upset or worried about something. Did she really think the new girl was that worrying?

"I know you don't always sleep when you lie here". Busted... He bit his lip for a second, but nodded in agreement. "I don't trust this Dana person. You have to keep an eye on her". She said it in a hushed tone, understandably. Desmond looked over to the two girls. They had settled down on a mattress a few meters away, on the other side of all their equipment. He stretched his neck to see Dana's face over the table Becca had claimed as hers. His eyebrows rose when he noticed how incredibly similar the two looked. If not for the different hairstyles and clothes, one would think they were twins.

"Sure" he responded without looking away from Dana. Lucy mumbled a thanks and picked up the half-eaten sandwich.

"You should try to get this down. You won't get any better if you don't eat" she said and held it up for him. He sighed through his nose. He still wasn't hungry, but Lucy was right as usual. Either eat, or don't get better. Lucy smiled as he took it from her and shoved it into his mouth.

Well, what else was there to do? As some apparently great person once said; _'Survival of the fittest'_. Besides, if he recovered and got in some more animus time, maybe this Dana person could notice him.

Okay, that was a weird thought.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	10. Brother's Concern

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 10 - Brother's Concern**

* * *

The images slowly faded, but the wrench of his gut only increased. It wasn't hunger he'd been feeling. Among all his stolen memories, he recalled something similar to this, and yet he wasn't able to pinpoint it. A faint pounding in his head had also became a constant. If it wasn't hunger he was feeling, why would he be so miserable? Perhaps he should ask Dana for advice. She was the only human being he had any contact with, and she knew a lot of things. Including a few medical tips and tricks. She had to know what was going on with him.

Alex dropped from the building he was standing on and slid down the wall all the way to the ground. The narrow alley shielded him somewhat from the crowd, but a few people heard and saw the concrete crack under his feet. As usual, they ran away screaming, probably planning to contact the first authorial figure they found. He sighed and rubbed his temple. Always the same story. It's not that he wasn't used to it by now, but it was becoming annoying. Especially with this headache getting in the way. At least he didn't have to stay around and get questioned. That was where he drew the line.

As casual as if he was a man walking down the street on a sunny day, Alex strode out into the crowd, taking on the appearance of a young woman. If anyone got a hold of police or the military, at least they wouldn't be able to point him out. He could handle chaos, but getting pointed at in the middle of a crowd was just tiresome. Incredibly so.

-xXx-

"You did **skydiving** as a hobby?!"

For a few hours now, Rebecca and Dana had been seated on the mattress and talking about what they used to do in the earlier parts of their lives. Dana hadn't said much about her life in New York, but she'd told her newfound friend a lot about her life when she was younger. Her drunken mother and non-existing father. She'd said to be lucky to have her brother at her side back then. Out of caution, she'd avoided to say Alex's name, but more for the fact that he might be angry with her rather than that she didn't trust these people.

She was fascinated by the things Rebecca used to do in her free time before she broke her leg a few years ago. What was also interesting to her was how she found her current hobby. To think you could become an expert in computers over a week just because there's nothing else to do. Dana had her own set of skills, but she'd learned over a few years, not weeks.

"Snowboarding as well. Who knew that coding could be just as exhilarating as strapping on a board and dropping out of a helicopter?". The smile Rebecca flashed upon thinking back on the old days warmed Dana's heart. She knew how her friend was feeling. She too relished in the memories she had - the ones of her brother. Back when they used to play together or watch scary movies all night long. She remembered how he'd put his arm around her where they sat in the sofa. He held her close, assuring her that it was just a movie. She knew that already, and yet... It was one of her favorite memories. The way he rubbed her shoulder gently and mumbled in her ear.

 _"Don't worry Dana, they aren't real"_ , he'd used to say. It almost hurt her now - to think back. The Alex she used to know... There wasn't much left of him. Ever since they met after five years of no contact, he'd changed to almost unrecognizable. A different person.

"Dana?"

She almost jerked back at the question. Had Rebecca talked to her? She shook her head slightly and fired off a soft smile. "I'm alright, just daydreaming" she reassured. Hopefully her feelings hadn't showed through all too much. If they would suddenly start worrying about her-... Well, she didn't want them to. Alex did enough of that. Or, perhaps it was the other way around...?

Rebecca's next words surprised her, to say the least. Not only was it a complete change of topic, but it was also generally unexpected. "I never realized how blue your eyes are" she said. Dana looked up at her with a confused expression. She'd never thought about it herself. Were they really that blue? They were more gray to her, if anything. "They're really similar to that guy we met...". It almost sounded like Becca hadn't meant to say that sentence.

"Who?" Dana asked. As expected, the other girl blinked. So she hadn't meant to say it out loud then. "I'm just curious. If it's too personal, you-"

"No, it's alright. It's just that... It's kind of a weird story"

"Believe me, I know weird". Dana chuckled. She truly did. After all she'd been through lately, weird was starting to become her normal.

"Well, shortly after we arrived here..."

-xXx-

A few minutes later Rebecca had told Dana all about what had happened since they arrived. She couldn't do else but stare for a moment. Her eyes were focused on the sandwich in her hand. They'd voted to take one each when Dana's stomach made itself heard. To think that Blackwatch would go as far as to kidnap someone for their own gain. It made her sick. Hold on a moment... If these people arrived four days ago, and Alex saved Rebecca... That had to mean it was one in their team who got hurt. And Alex had seen it. Oh my...

"So..." Dana started while walking back toward the mattress. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, but now that she knew they had all met each other in one way or the other, there wasn't much of a point in keeping secrets. Clearly, these people weren't members of blackwatch, and they seemed to have their own _'bad guy'_ army to worry about. Templars, was it? To Dana it seemed like this whole scenario was taken out of a Sci-Fi movie. Or maybe some kind of a secret operations novel.

"The guy you were talking about" she tested, getting Rebecca's full attention. Her gray eyes sparkled with curiosity where they looked at Dana from behind her computer screen. "If I'm not wrong, and I highly doubt I am - that guy is my brother. We both inherited mom's eye color" she explained with a shrug of her shoulders and smiled sheepishly.

Rebecca blinked once before a grin spread across her lips. Dana smiled back, but before any of them could comment further about it, the door to the stairway was flung open. All people present were awakened from whatever half-slumbering states they were in, prepared to take on the worst. In her peripheral vision, Dana could see the blonde guy swing around in his seat and reach for his gun. The third girl yelped from somewhere in the room, and Rebecca jumped to her feet.

Dana wasn't sure what surprised her more. To see Alex being the one in the doorway, or the distressed expression he wore. Had something happened? Did he finally decide that they were friendly? Or ... did he go to the apartment only to find it empty...? Damn, of course he did. He had came back to talk to her - get more information about Gentek or Blackwatch or whatever he might've been interested in, and she wasn't there. She should've left a note or something. Of course he was distressed, he probably thought something had happened to her. _Stupid, stupid, stupid..._ She rubbed her hands over her face to brace for his possible outbreak.

She was suddenly five years old again. Alex towering over her while scolding her about how worried he'd been, asking where she'd been and why she was outside from the start. She remembered the tears streaming down her face as she clutched the teddybear he'd given her when she was three. She remembered how he would rub his hand over his face after calming down. How he crouched down in front of her, taking hold of her small hand with his own two. _"I'm sorry for yelling Dana, I shouldn't. I'm just worrying about you"_ he had said so many years ago.

The scenario was the same, except now they were both older, and he was holding her wrist instead of having his arms crossed over his chest. Their eyes met and she fought not to jerk back. If he had anything to say, she would listen. But if he was planning to just drag her along, she would put up a fight if necessary. If he was truly the brother she'd always known, he wouldn't go against her will.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. His eyes darted back and forth between the people in the room. She herself kept her gaze glued to his face. "You shouldn't trust these people". Oh really now?

"Funny, coming from the one barging in without notice". Dana looked to who had spoken and saw the british guy standing with a gun in his hand, pointed right at them. Her heart skipped a beat, but Alex seemed undeterred. "How do we know you're not a templar?"

"Shaun!"

Both Dana and Alex turned their attention to Rebecca upon hearing her shout. She was walking over to the blonde guy and pressed her hand down on his wrists, successively lowering his gun to point it at the ground instead. She hissed something at him before the blonde girl interrupted. They were arguing in hushed tones, Shaun never looking away from Alex. The two clearly didn't trust each other, that much was clear.

While they were busy with their own thing however, Alex looked back at Dana, and she met his gaze. "You shouldn't be here" he said, not bothering if the others heard him or not. If they did, they seemingly didn't care. Their hushed argument kept in the background while Dana stared daggers at her brother.

"And since when do **you** get to decide who I talk to or not?". She jerked her hand back and took a step to the side to have Alex out of her most personal space. "I'm not five anymore Alex-"

"Dana-", he went to grab Dana's wrist again, but she pulled back, "-these people are dangerous".

In her peripheral vision, she saw four pair of eyes turn to them. The arguments had abruptly stopped, and the silence felt heavy in the air. If she reached out, she had no doubts she would be able to touch the tension between them. Not only between the other people and them, but also between the two siblings.

"Alex..." she heard Rebecca mumble, deceit heavy in her voice. In turn, Shaun grit his teeth and growled.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!". Alex ignored both of them, or tried to. She saw the flicker of his eyes when the ravenhead spoke his name. Nonetheless, he'd still spoken, and he couldn't take it back now. He'd have to pay for his actions, whether he'd meant it or not. Okay, maybe he didn't trust them, but they were on no level dangerous. Not like ... him.

"I don't see them punching holes into walls" Dana hissed for a response. The same hurt look she'd seen him take on back in the apartment passed over him again, but this time he didn't fight it. His eyes diverted to look down at the floor, and he saw his jaw clench. Without another word, he turned on his heel and marched out of the cellar, the door sliding close behind him. She exhaled, allowing herself to finally relax. As nice as it was to have Alex worrying about her, he was being a bit too overprotective sometimes.

"What the fuck is that guy's problem?" Shaun said after some silence. Dana sighed and plopped down on the mattress she and Becca had previously been sitting on.

"He's my brother" she said with a chuckle. It didn't explain his problems or why he acted like he did, but it was a reason for him to be protective, she guessed. "Sorry about him. He hasn't been himself lately".

If she only knew how much truth were to that sentence, maybe she would've thought harder on what she'd just said to him, and what horrible consequences could come with them.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	11. Infectious

**Reader warning:** Chapter contains gore and foul language.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 11 - Infectious**

* * *

A cruel grin spread in the pale face as dark strands of biomass burrowed down under the skin of the marine. Blood, sweat and other unknown liquids covered his face and littered the ground below him. He wailed and squirmed, desperately trying to get away. Tendrils had curled around his body and was slowly feasting on the still living flesh. Images from his past life flashed before him in pace with his life slowly being drained. He saw his wife, his two children and the family dog. Their faces stained with tears. If he died here, he would break the promise he'd made them. He'd promised to come home in time for Christmas so they could all enjoy some family time together. He knew he wouldn't be able to get away, but he fought nonetheless. If he died now, at least he would know he went down with honor.

"You'll pay...Mercer..." he pressed out into his last, dying breath. The greedy black mass quickly devoured what was left of his body. They swirled for a moment in search for any remaining treat before retracting to their host when nothing was found. Alex clutched his head with one hand and kept the other on the wall for support as the painful memoryflash passed.

"Self-obsessive, huh?" he mumbled once his vision had cleared. He straightened and threw a look over his shoulder. "I'll show you self-obsessive".

-xXx-

A few minutes later he attended a briefing disguised as the marine he'd just consumed. The Lieutenant was giving him and three other soldiers an overview of their mission. They were to stay in teams of two and patrol the streets around the block where the base was situated. There were rumors about a small group of infected wandering away from the containment area to the south. Their job was to find them and make sure they didn't wander further. Alex could guess that their true intentions were something else entirely, but that remained to be seen. He reminded himself to take a peek into the lieutenant's head later on. Any information about the events here in Manhattan was valuable information, and if he couldn't have Dana help him, he'd just have to find it for himself. Gruesome, but effective, and he didn't particularly care if a few men had to give their lives for that information. Surely, the government had more than enough resources to replace them.

"What I'm saying is, kill every son of a bitch you see" the lieutenant explained, looking long and hard at each of the men stationed before him. The briefing was then dismissed, and the two teams marched toward the gates while wishing each other good luck. They parted ways there, Alex's team heading west on 23rd Street, and the others to the east. Before they'd even walked a hundred meters, his teammate started hammering him with questions, as expected.

"Ye got any kids at home waitin' fo' ye? My li'l Elise is five. Pearl o' my life that girl" he said, seemingly dreaming on while gazing off into the distance. Alex would rather knock out the guy and continue on his own, but the consequences of that were not only many, but also boring and troublesome. The simple solution were to just play along and answer the questions asked.

"Naaah, I wasn't lucky enough to have any. Got no wife either". That was a truth, in a way. He'd been at his old apartment some days ago, and according to the framed pictures on the walls, he'd had a girlfriend once. He remembered her face, her blonde hair and the clothes she usually wore, but there was no name. He didn't remember if they'd been close, or if it was just a fling. As of now, he wouldn't consider himself a romantic person. Hell, he was barely even a person at all. He wasn't human anymore, but then what? What was he and who? Did someone who wasn't a real person have an identity? Could he still call himself Alexander Mercer? Alex, or was he just Zeus? Dana... Was Dana not his sister..?

The tumbling questions made an ache start pounding in his head. It was almost instinctive when he reached up to rub his temples. While he had started to get used to these sudden migraines, it was getting increasingly annoying. Annoying to the point of troublesome when there was people around to notice. People like the soldier walking alongside him.

"Ye alright son?" he questioned, obviously concerned over who he thought to be his comrade. Alex held back a sigh. People and their damn concerns. Couldn't they just shut up and keep to their own damn corners for once? He just wanted some peace. Just one moment of silence where he could relax and forget about the world. A single minute shouldn't be too much to ask for. Perhaps it **would** be easier to just beat the brains out of the blabbering bastard. He could always bail out and find someplace else to have some quiet lonetime.

"Just-" he started, intent on shutting him up, but was efficiently silenced by his own thoughts. A blabbering bastard with a sloppy british accent. He'd definitely heard that accent somewhere before, and not just in the memories he'd stolen. It was from his own memories, and it was recent-... Oh no... No. No, no, no, no-

His head whipped to the side and his blue eyes met bright green. Oh yea, it was him alright. The marine he'd worked with a few days prior only to bash his nose in with the butt of his rifle. Shit. A big fucking pile of shit.

The man followed where he thought Alex was looking, rifle at the ready. When he couldn't spot any imminent danger, his attention was brought back and he looked conflicted for a moment. A second later, he fired a gentle smile. "Aye, it'll get better kid" he said, hand moving up to pat Alex's shoulder. Confusion was the only thing he could muster. Was he talking about the previously broken nose he'd apparently adjusted? The freckles in his face? The way he looked at Alex like he was better? A chuckle left the man, obviously amused by his comrade's expression. "Spendin' sum time in the military, ye learn a few tricks. Walkers ain't nuthin' to worry 'bout son". Ah... So that's what he was talking about.

"Mmmh-" Alex grunted for a response as realization finally dawned on him. This blabber guy thought he'd had a moment of panic because of their mission. Yea, as if he was worried a few walkers would poke him a little. No, he'd realized rather quickly that they either didn't give a shit about him, or they clung to him like a seaweed clinging to a rock while trying to get a taste of his face. They were easy enough to push away and give a boot to the head. No, in that case, the fat ones were more of a trouble. Or those godforsaken hunters he'd apparently managed to let loose in the city. Screw them man, screw them badly.

With a sigh, Alex resumed his walk, the marine following close behind.

-xXx-

A few hundred meters later, they came to an intersection where they'd agreed to turn left. Whether unlucky or bad timing, Alex was still pissed to see a horde of walkers stumbling over each other's feet around the corner. The two men readied their rifles and walked a few more steps before opening fire. A small group huh? More like a couple hundred. Did the lieutenant know about this? If so, why only send two men to each location? Did he have that much faith in his men to think they could handle this much on their own, or was his plans to get rid of liabilities? If the order came from Blackwatch, such could very likely be the case.

The walkers fell one by one, and the area was cleared in a few minutes. The two had moved from their original position while shooting, now standing at what had over just a few days become a dumping location. Containers, trashcans, boxes of different shapes and materials, discarded electronics and other junk were thrown and stashed in the area. It might as well also be a graveyard, judging by the odor it emitted. Alex quickly got a bad feeling about the place. He insisted they get their move on as soon as possible, but of course blabberman had to brag about the whole thing before they could. Being older and more experienced, he wanted to show his younger colleague that he was the best of the best and that there was nothing to worry about as long as he was present. It was a trait many people seemed to have, Alex realized. The need for confirmation and the need to be _'self-obsessed'_ until they felt better about their otherwise so miserable lives. _Great._ He was now stuck in a trash dump with the blabberbastard.

He opened his mouth to have them get a move on when his instincts kicked him in the gut and his right shoulder tingled. He whipped around to take on the danger, but too late. An infected threw itself from the top of a container and pounced on Alex before he was able to rise his rifle. Pain shot through his shoulder before he even hit the ground. Instincts led him to screw the rifle and push the creature away. Anywhere, anyhow, just away from him. He was able to get a leg in between their bodies and kick away the abomination. Its teeth shredded the clothes and skin of his shoulder, pulling a groan from between grit teeth. This pain wasn't like getting shot by a rifle. It was a real pain, not the tickle he usually felt.

He heard a gunshot and a splatter when intestines hit the ground, and then the marine was kneeling down beside Alex. He clutched the wound with his hand, and he could feel the biomass already trying to repair itself. Fuck fuck fuck, this was not good. Fucking **hell** , this wasn't good.

"Shit son, we gotta get ye outta 'ere!" the man swore while scanning their surroundings for more possible surprise attacks. Alex quickly sat up and gripped his arm with his free hand. If there was more, they better get the hell out instead of trying to fight them off.

"I got it, don-"

"Your shoulder-". The marine was suddenly very intent in checking Alex's wound, making him turn away. If there was no wound when there should be one, suspicion would quickly arise and his cover would be blown. Nothing good would come out of this situation. The only solution were to get rid of the problem. Why hadn't he just bashed his head in when he realized who the man was? He should've gotten rid of him for good, erase him from existence. All of this could've been avoided. Dammit, what-

He saw the soldier gulp and lean back where he sat crouched on the ground. Alex kept his gaze locked on the man's hands, ready to act in case bullets would fly. Silence plagued the two for barely a second, but it might as well have been half an eternity. The tension was palpable. When the bastard finally spoke, Alex wasn't sure if he should be relieved or bothered.

"...Zeus?".

It turned into a mixture of both. He pushed the man away from him, landing him on his ass before getting up on his own two feet. His fists clenched, but instead of beating him bloody, he turned on his heel. Biomass collected at his feet and he sprinted. Straight up the side of a building he went, up and up and up until reaching the rooftop. Not even then did he stop. He darted off over the rooftops, jumping from building to building until he was far away from the location he'd been bitten.

Dropping down into a narrow alley, behind a large dumpster, he stopped to slam his fist against the wall. _Idiot, moron, dumbass, fool._ He should've killed the bastard. He should've ripped his head blank off his shoulders. Strangled him to death with his bare hands. Filled his abdomen with bullets from his own rifle. More scenarios came and went as the biomass that made up his body squirmed and shifted until he was Alex once more. Why didn't he kill him? Why did he ... hesitate? A wordless cry left him as he gripped his hair. Dana, he needed to see Dana. He needed information. The apartment complex was just a block away.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	12. First Things

**A/N:**

This chapter was the first posted under a new schedule. From here on, I posted once a week, on Tuesdays - although over on Wattpad.

x

 **Reader warning:** chapter contains slight FxF hints.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 12 - First Things**

* * *

He'd lost count on how many people he'd devoured in the last two minutes. More and more memories had filled his mind, whispers and screams of death drowning each other. The pain and images faded, but the godforsaken wrench in his gut still persisted. It wouldn't leave him alone, and it was driving him crazy. He couldn't get his mind straight - thoughts were wreaking havoc and spinning up a tornado in his head. Dana's words were still echoing like a distant reminder of how much she would hate him for all he'd done if she found out. He recalled the fear he'd seen in her eyes when he'd barged into the apartment the days prior. _'Monster'_ , he thought. He was a monster with no name and no mercy. He had an alias - a codename, but that was all. He was Zeus. The monster that the militia wanted dead.

A blind rage filled his senses, and before he could realize what he was doing, his fist collided with the wall of a building. Soon after came his other fist. Again and again, until the wall gave in to his strength. As the dust settled, a headache whipped his temples. _"I don't see them punching holes into walls"._ He had to find a distraction from whatever mental disease he'd picked up. It was too early to go back and pretend to be some military man on a mission. They were still searching for him, he knew that, and he knew he couldn't go back to the hideout. His old apartment? No, that place was blown to bits.

He'd just have to enjoy himself until things calmed down. Enjoy himself as the monster he was. Central Park was dwindling with life at dawn, and the opportune place to have some fun. A cruel grin spread in his face.

-xXx-

Just a few blocks away, an old couple were cleaning up the floors and tables of their restaurant. The man in his late eighties were wiping the counter with a moist towel while his wife used a mop to clean any dust from the checkered floor. They'd been running this place all by themselves for many years now, and they both took equal responsibility to keep it up. Though, with half of the island's residence setting up a rebellion against the authorities, they didn't get as many guests as they used to. Nevertheless, they liked to keep things neat and tidy. Cleaning the restaurant was part of their daily routines.

"Martha, clean off table three, would you? I think I forgot that one" the man called to his wife. She looked up at him with a smile and nodded. The mop was put away inside the cleaning cabinet in the kitchen before she grabbed a towel to dust off and clean the table with. As per usual, she sat down on the chair next to the window to start wiping. As she did, movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked out the window with peaked curiosity to spot a few figures across the broad street.

"George dear, come look at this. I think they're playing in that movie again" she called while squinting at the figures outside. He walked up to her and looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. He too squinted a little and pushed up his squared glasses on his nose to see better. After a moment of inspection, he grunted.

"Well well, would you look at that. Kids are playing outside instead of watching their screens all day" he muttered. She nodded thoughtfully and pushed up her small, rounded glasses on her nose. She noticed how one of them played along wilder than all the others. It almost looked like a game of tag, except he tagged all of them one by one. She was curious at this.

"You think he's special? With the claws and all?" she asked aloud.

He looked to where she was pointing. "Hmmhmm, he looks talented" he agreed, then turned his head to look at the clock and straightened. "Martha, we need to close" he reminded her with a tap on her shoulder. She was confused for a moment, but understood what he meant after also looking at the big, round clock hanging on the opposite wall.

"Right right". She stood up and nodded to her husband. "You go on ahead dear, I'll finish this up" she said with a smile, earning an appreciative kiss on the forehead from his George.

-xXx-

As the sun rose a few hours later, Dana was stretching her limbs after waking up on the mattress that she and Rebecca had claimed as theirs. Strangely enough, she'd slept an awful lot better here than she'd ever done back in her own apartment or in the hideout a few floors above. She could imagine it had something to do with the calmness that came with sleeping in a basement secluded from the world around them. Or maybe the warmth from another body so close to her own? She had to admit that it was calming. It had been a night without dreams and without worries. If that was how every night was gonna go from now, she'd gladly put up with sharing a mattress.

"Slept well?" said a sleepdrunken Rebecca from where she was still huddled up under the thin duvet they'd previously shared.

"Like a baby" Dana responded, desperately trying to hold back a giggle. Becca's bedhead hair was **unruly**. It looked like a crow had tried to build a nest, then raged for a moment before giving up because it was simply impossible. Eventually, she couldn't hold back anymore and reached her hand out to frizzle it a little more. "What about you, sexy?"

A narrow of those gray eyes was the only response she would receive before the brown-haired guy interrupted them. "You two lovebirds done chittering so we can have some breakfast?" he shouted from where he was half-sitting on the second of the three mattresses the team had brought with them. Dana wondered for a moment how they'd gotten all of it down here, but realized pretty quickly that she was more interested in food than anything else. She was **starving** , and her stomach loudly agreed. Food it was.

"Morning to you too Desmond" Rebecca grumbled while getting up from her place. Dana stayed put as she wondered if there might be anything left among all of their packing or if they would have to find a place that had takeout. Or a restaurant. That could probably do them all good right now. That blonde girl could certainly use something alcoholic right now. She seriously had to chill out.

Dana almost jumped out of her skin upon hearing a groan from the third mattress. Shaun was just waking up and **man** did he looks scruffy. His blonde hair was sticking out in all directions, dark circles under his eyes and his eyes mirrored those of death itself. It sort of reminded her of the freaks of terror she'd researched recently. He most definitely needed a cup of coffee. The bad news: they didn't have any. It seemed they had no other choice but to go grocery shopping.

"Guys, there's a restaurant not even a block from here". Oh yea, that worked too. Everyone's attention was now focused on Rebecca where she sat in front of her laptop, squinting at the screen. Dana still hadn't quite gotten over the crow's nest her friend sported and covered up her chuckle with a cough.

"Don't tell me you're-"

"No, Shaun, I saw it when I was out earlier. I'm not using any network". Rebecca dismissed the Brit's complaints with a flick of her wrist. He grumbled something incoherent while snuggling back into the comfort of the duvet. Had he been up all night? Dana had noticed him being up when the others went to bed, and it was quite possible that these people had agreed on some kind of nightly watch. As she understood it, they were wanted by some organization that had to do with those templar guys, and they basically had to always keep moving and stay low in order not to be sniffed out. They had their similarities to herself and Alex, didn't they?

"Restaurant food sounds **delicious** " Desmond announced, breaking off Dana's thoughts. She would agree with him, but wasn't sure if she'd be welcome to come with them. The blonde girl still looked at her like they were enemies. She hoped she'd be able to prove her wrong, even if that would take both time and effort. They were all wanted by some organization, all needing to keep quiet and keep vigilant toward everyone they met. Wouldn't a bigger team working together be safer and easier than two teams working separately in their own dark corners?

"Let's just hope they're open-", Rebecca got up from her seat, "-Who's coming with?" she asked. Both Desmond, Shaun and Lucy said yes in choir, even if Shaun's yes was more alike a grunt muffled by a set of blankets and Lucy's seemed hesitant. Dana was just getting started on thinking what she could possibly have for breakfast when two pair of eyes were aimed at her. She looked back and forth between Desmond and Rebecca, confused for a few seconds. Then it dawned on her.

"Huh? Me? Oh, no, I'm not-". But her stomach loudly disagreed. Okay, yes, she was hungry, but there was clearly no need to- _**Growl!**_ Yea, okay, she wanted to come with them. Or at least her stomach did.

"Well?" Rebecca questioned expectantly. Desmond's expression were insistent, if not hopeful.

"Fine, I'm coming" she finally agreed, and Rebecca offered a hand to help her up from the mattress. Shaun seemed to have fallen asleep again and Lucy was still hesitant over her company. "I'll need to pick some stuff up first"

"Stuff like?"

"Oh, you know... Pins, photos, laptops, my wallet..."

"Riiight"

The two ravenheads snickered while walking toward the door that would lead them to the stairs. Lucy were quick to catch up to them and grabbed Rebecca by the wrist. She pulled her away a few steps, and Dana was bright enough to know they wanted some privacy and backed away a few steps of her own. Okay, Lucy didn't trust her, that fact was clear as day, but really. What had she done that would seem **that** suspicious? Then again, she didn't know how these templar dudes acted on their daily basis around people, so she guessed she could understand the uncertainty. But faith wasn't won until a chance was given.

Lucy seemed to understand that, because Becca was soon at her side again with an apologetic look. "She'll come through eventually" she said. Dana smiled, but felt the blue eyes dig into her back as the two exited the cellar. She hoped that _'eventually'_ would turn to _'now'_ sooner rather than later.

-xXx-

"Ready to go get some grubs?" Rebecca asked when Dana had finished collecting what she needed. They hadn't been here for more than a few minutes, but knowing what was waiting for them, it already felt like hours. Both of the girls' stomachs were complaining loudly, and Rebecca's mouth watered at the thought of food. She could see freshly cooked beef and salad, a glass of water so cold it steamed. Alright, no, water wouldn't get that cold without freezing, but imagination didn't have any limits. Unless you set one, that is.

"I was born ready. I'm so hungry I could eat a cow" she responded, rubbing her belly.

"Me too! I hope they have a steak like **this** big". Rebecca held out her hands for measurement.

"I'm not sure they have **plates** that big"

"Okay, yea, you might be right. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm hungry". They both laughed and headed for the door. Rebecca could still see the steaming plate in her mind. Sweet, delicious food was within her grasp, and all they had to do was to meet up with the others and walk less than 500 meters. They'd have to order first of course, but that wasn't exactly a concern. What was a concern however was that Dana's footsteps stopped. Rebecca turned with a confused expression on her face. She didn't need to open her mouth before Dana responded to the question she'd meant to ask.

"What if he comes back and we're not here?"

 _'Him'?_ Rebecca was confused at first, then realized what her friend was talking about. She fired off a reassuring smile. "Just leave him a note saying you'll be gone for a while. Also, maybe we should buy a doggy bag to bring back for him. I'm sure he'd appreciate it".

Dana hesitated for a moment, but she eventually agreed to Becca's proposition. She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from her desk and scribbled down a note for her brother. Rebecca wondered if they should write a second one to leave in the basement, but decided against it. He probably would go up here first if he did come back before them, since this was where the two siblings had been hiding out lately.

"You should probably put it somewhere where he definitely can't miss it".

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	13. Melancholy Hill

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 13 - Melancholy Hill**

* * *

The smell of food smacked against their faces as they entered through the doors of the restaurant they'd picked. Dana and Rebecca both felt their mouths water and Desmond was rubbing his belly while clicking his tongue. They all looked around the little place while picking a seat close to the window. It was small, but very neat and Rebecca wondered how it wasn't stocked with people every day of the week. The smell emitting from the kitchen was marvelous, and she could picture the dishes of steak, veggies and potato when she closed her eyes. She had a feeling this was going to be awesome.

Barely a minute after they had taken their seats, a lady in her eighties emerged from the kitchen with an apron strapped around her waist and a small notebook in her hand. She trodded over to their table and flashed them a smile that could make any heart melt. Though she had a teeth missing here and there, the kindness in her smile was undeniable. Rebecca immediately took a liking to her.

"Good morning to you dears, what can I get you all? Anything that's on your mind, we can put onto a plate" she announced, getting excited looks from three out of five visitors and a cocked eyebrow from the fourth. Lucy was quick to order a chicken salad, Desmond picked a burger with extra cheese, fish n chips for Shaun, a club sandwich for Dana and of course, a steak with wedge potatoes and extra creamy sauce for Rebecca.

The lady scribbled down their orders and promised to have them done in forty minutes. Shaun and Lucy seemed to doubt this, judging by their expressions, but the lady was confident. She trodded back into the kitchen and they could soon hear the quiet frizzle of food in a frying pan.

"So, what do you think?" Desmond asked when they'd been silent for a minute. He looked at them all expectantly and Rebecca saw the glimmer in those chocolate brown eyes. "Will she have it done in forty, or do you bet it'll be thirty?"

Shaun snorted. "More like fifty if she's doing all the work by herself"

"Oh c'mon Shaun, lighten up a little" Rebecca pushed, nudging his leg with her foot under the table. "You don't think a girl with forty years more experience than you can't make a swift job?"

"I don't think **anyone** can make five dishes in less than an hour"

"Now you're being negative, but I know that's just you, Shaun, so I'll let it slide" Rebecca said with her arms crossed over her chest. With a quick glance at Dana, she added; "This time"

Before Shaun could come up with one of his comebacks, the door leading to the kitchen opened and a man around the same age as the lady that took their orders stepped out. He walked up to their table an cleared his throat. In his hand was a notebook similar to the lady's. "I believe you forgot to order any drinks" he said with a smile and looked at each of them in order.

"Water, please"

"A big glass of coke would be so awesome right now"

"Same for me"

"Me too"

"I don't suppose I can get a cup of coffee right at this moment?"

The man looked at Shaun for about a second. He seemed confused at first, then nodded. "Right this way, sir" he said, pointing with his hand toward the counter. The Brit shot Rebecca a look that told her he was impressed before getting up from his seat and following to get his long awaited coffee. Rebecca assumed he was also ordering a drink to have with the food, since it took a moment for him to get back to the table.

"Got any peek into the kitchen to see how she was doing?" she joked and raised her eyebrows. He snorted, but didn't respond, which she took as a win for this time. He sipped his coffee as Dana and Rebecca got into a talk about the thrill of coding and Desmond silently watched. Lucy and Shaun eventually got into a discussion about what secret hideout they thought were the best so far, Desmond sometimes chiming in with his own opinion about the place.

-xXx-

As promised, forty minutes later the lady emerged with the first two dishes in their order. A burger with extra cheese and a big glass of coke for Desmond, and a chicken salad with a glass of water for Lucy. The old man came out soon after with Dana's and Rebecca's food, and lastly Shaun got his fish and chips with a club soda served by the lady. They both wished them a good meal before leaving for the kitchen again.

They all ate while giving off little noises to compliment the food then and now. Dana and Rebecca even fed each other a few pieces of their own meal, giggling while swallowing down what they'd been given. Rebecca noticed Desmond looking at her with wide eyes as she chewed a piece of sandwich, almost spitting it all out as she fell into a fit of giggles. Dana offered her a sip of coke, which she gladly accepted. The giggles turned to laughter when her mouth was free again, and though the other ravenhead wasn't sure what she was laughing about, she gladly chimed in. Shaun just slowly shook his head at them.

"Who snores the loudest?" Dana suddenly whispered, putting Becca aloof once more. They leaned in close to each other so their foreheads almost connected. "Shaun or Desmond?"

"Shaun, totally. Desmond sleeps like a baby". A fit of giggles once more and Rebecca could feel three pair of eyes judging her silently. If it was because she was having a fit with Dana, she'd just tell them to shut up. The girl was trustworthy, not to mention super nice. If it was because she was having fun at all, she would ignore them. They might be four assassins on the run and one wanted hacker girl, but that was all the more reason to let loose whenever they were able to. How would they ever survive if they were constantly on their toes and always looking over their shoulders? Rebecca knew life was better than that. Life was short, and they had to treasure it.

"How are your meals? Did everything sit well?" the old lady asked as she came up to their table. Everyone agreed in delight. Even Shaun was impressed by her skill. Rebecca discreetly winked at him, getting a roll of his eyes for a response. Dana cleared her throat after swallowing what she'd previously been chewing.

"You don't happen to have any dessert for later, do you?". The old lady shone up at this.

"Well of course dear. What might be on your mind?"

Dana thought about it for a bit. "Brownies?"

The lady nodded. "Of course. Can I get you anything else?" she asked and gestured in their general direction with her hand.

"I'll have one too please" Rebecca said. She looked at Lucy, Shaun and Desmond in turn, then furrowed her eyebrows. Did he look a little pale? He wasn't his usual self, that's for sure.

"Do you have some painkillers? I'm having a bit of a headache". Rebecca was almost certain that at least a part of that sentence was a lie. Desmond still wasn't well, and the walk here hadn't exactly been easy. The area around here was calm compared to other parts of the city, but they still had to be careful. Militia were patrolling a few of the streets, and a lonely infected occasionally limped past. They were dealt with swiftly enough, but that didn't mean it didn't cause chaos. The people were scared of what was happening, and honestly, so was Rebecca.

"Here you are dear" the lady said while putting a small container and a glass of water in front of him. He didn't hesitate for longer than a second before swallowing down two pills and emptying the glass. Desmond thanked her with a tired smile and she patted his shoulder gently. The old man came out of the kitchen just then and decided to join them.

"We don't get a lot of customers these days" he muttered and sat down on a chair across of them. Rebecca could see why. All the people was probably hiding out in their homes or moving to what would be considered as the safer parts of the island. "Where are you all from? I doubt that the handsome blonde with the British accent was born and raised in Manhattan, was he?"

Everyone around the table seemingly froze for a moment. During their still sleepdazed morning, none of them had thought about the fact that they were more or less fugitives. To have went to a restaurant like this without doing proper research first was foolish, if anything. How would they know if there weren't any secret microphones installed in the walls? Could they be sure that there wouldn't come an army of black-whatever-they-are and put bags over their heads? They couldn't, and without information, they were now in the dark. Rebecca had to fight a gulp.

"I was born in a small village in South Dakota. I got tired of my father's teachings and ran away from home when I was sixteen. After a bit of travels I ended up here in New York. I also met all of these guys on the way"

Well, that certainly wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. To think that Desmond would be the one to make up such a half-truth to get them out of a complicated situation. Shaun yet again almost looked impressed. Clearly, he hadn't thought high enough of Desmond to believe in him. Dana was the next person to break the silence.

"I was born to a drunken mother, and my father left us before I was born" she said, drumming with her nails on her half-empty glass. Rebecca felt sorry for her friend. She'd told her some details about her upbringing, and it had clearly left a trace. Rebecca had had a family when she was young, Dana hadn't. She didn't know of the joys when your mother brought home presents or when there was said to be a surprise if she ate all of her vegetables.

"We all have our story" she said out loud, gently rubbing Dana over the back. The old couple seemed to be taken by what they just heard, the lady having a hand over her heart.

"Dear child" she mumbled. "And you didn't have any siblings to take care of you?"

Dana shone up and smiled at the couple. "Alex took care of me" she said, almost proudly. Rebecca could see now that she truly cared for her brother. It was understandable that after taking care of each other for their entire lives, they'd be close. She'd be worried about her brother too if she had one. Dana continued; "He's in the city, but he hasn't been home for a while. Have you seen him? He usually wears a leather jacket with tribal markings on the back and two white bands around the upper arms. He also has a hoodie, gray jeans and always had his hood up for some reason. His eyes are blue like mine also"

The old man scratched his beard in thought while the lady pushed up her glasses on her nose. He eventually blinked as something came to his mind. "Hmm, yea, I might've seen him. Tall, scrawny lad, is he?"

Dana nodded. "He is pretty slender, now that I think about it" she admitted while scratching her neck. Rebecca had to agree. When she thought back about him, she remembered his slim form and those frosty eyes. He was most certainly not fat, that's for sure. The image of an Alex with a bubblebelly passed through her head, and she had to bite her lip not to fall into another fit of laughter.

"Yea, we saw him here just yesterday" the lady agreed and pointed out the window. The man gave an assenting grunt and gestured toward the outside as well. Dana lit up at this and threw a look Rebecca's way.

"He was limping around here together with some other kids. Just on the other side of the street. If he's trying to get the top role in that zambi' movie they all seem to be joining, he's got it, I tell ya. He's got a talent, that's for sure"

The restaurant fell silent. Rebecca didn't even know what to say. She didn't know how to feel. Her brain still processed what the old man had said when Dana got up from her chair and left for the door, claiming she needed some fresh air. Wait a minute, Alex was-..? No, no, no, no - no way! To think that Alex-... He couldn't be. _**No!**_

Rebecca was suddenly in a great need to follow Dana. She got up from her chair and rounded the table to exit the building. The old couple was utterly confused while the three assassins remaining at the table looked between each other. Rebecca ignored them, intent on catching up with her black-haired friend.

She found her just outside the doors, pacing back and forth with her arms wrapped around herself. She still didn't know what to say, but a terrible wrench in her stomach made a tight ball form in her throat. She could only imagine what Dana must've felt. The only true family she'd ever had, ripped from her.

"Dana..." Rebecca said softly, getting her attention. She didn't say anything more, but didn't need to. The ravenhead stopped her pacing and looked at her. Her lower lip quivered slightly.

"He's gone..." she croaked. "He's gone and it's my fault"

Rebecca knew there was nothing she could either say or do that would make Dana feel any better. All she could do was to accept the hug she was pulled into and let her friend let out her grief. She wanted to cry as well, but found herself unable. The ball remained in her throat, making it impossible to talk, but no tears came. It was Dana's place to cry, and rightly so. She'd just found out in the most terrible way that her brother had died. Or ... worse.

She looked up to see dark clouds covering the sky, threatening to pour their heavy contents upon them. While a shower could possibly be good for the both of them, she didn't exactly feel like getting soaked right now. "We should go back... Back to the hideout" she suggested. Dana just nodded for a response.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	14. Reminiscence

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 14 - Reminiscence**

* * *

Not even an hour after Dana and Rebecca had arrived at the hideout, the remaining three members of their group entered into the cellar. Rebecca reached for the gun on the table when she heard the door squeak, but quickly relaxed when she heard Shaun's voice. He held the door for Lucy and Desmond, who looked even more pale than he'd done back at the restaurant. He was mumbling something incoherent and Becca frowned when he practically collapsed on the mattress he'd been assigned. Lucy made haste to feel his forehead for any fever and check his pulse. There was a deep crease between her eyebrows.

"How is he?" Rebecca asked as she crouched down beside her friend, putting a hand on Desmond's forehead as well. He was either fast asleep or passed out already, and his breathing had picked up. He was a little warm, but not feverish. Rebecca didn't know as much about this stuff as Lucy did, but she hoped he'd be okay. Hell, they'd just lost Alex. They couldn't lose Desmond too. She wouldn't be able to take that hit. Not now.

"Worse" Lucy responded. Their eyes met briefly before Lucy's blue ones looked over toward Dana. "How is she?". It was a genuine question. If not for the state of things, Rebecca would've smiled over seeing her friend start to get through the suspicions.

"Broken"

It was the only appropriate word for Dana's condition. Once they got back, she had taken a spot on their mattress and was hugging her knees while the tears slowly streamed from her eyes. Rebecca honestly didn't think the girl could reach such a low point. Ever since they met yesterday, she'd always kept her spirits up. Even after Alex's sudden outburst, she still remained positive. To see her now... It hurt.

Rebecca sighed heavily while walking around her desk and some other equipment to reach the other mattress and sat down gently beside her friend. She dared putting an arm around her, and Dana leaned into her. It became somewhat of an awkward side-hug, but neither of them particularly cared. They both needed comfort, awkward or not.

"He was my brother" Dana silently croaked. She managed to get the attention of all the people currently residing in the room, except for Desmond of course. He was passed out flat and probably wouldn't wake up again for at least a few hours. Rebecca listened intently to what Dana had to tell. It was the least she could do, and possibly the only thing she could do.

"He made it his job to worry about me when I was only a few months old. Our mother was a drunk, and I think she physically abused him when we were kids". She paused for a moment, gathering some strength to keep talking. Rebecca silently took note of how the soft light from the oil lamps made her tear-streaked face take on a look of ... close enough to perfection. It also made her eyes look like a tender orange-y blue.

"He was almost always in pain, but he would always deny it, saying he'd be fine and it was nothing. Sometimes he would say that he'd tripped and hurt himself. I never really believed him, but he was my brother. He was my Alex, and I didn't ask more than once. Thinking back, I probably should have confronted him more often. Alex has never been clumsy, and he wasn't back then either".

A faint smile spread on Dana's lips. Rebecca couldn't understand how she managed to smile in the state she was in. She must've been breaking down inside. Then again, the power of memories was strong, and they were possibly the one thing that kept her from losing it right now. As far as Rebecca understood it at least. She might as well be crossing that line as she was speaking.

"Every day when mother got home from an event with her friends, Alex would tell me to go upstairs. I always listened to him blindly when it came to her, never asked any questions. I went to my room, closed the door and hid under the blanket in my bed. When I heard the door slam shut to mother's room, I hurried down the stairs and found Alex in the sofa. To think it took almost five years from the day I started walking to understand what was really happening after I had rushed up those stairs"

Dana was sobbing again now, but that little smile didn't leave her lips. Rebecca held her closer to herself in an attempt to comfort her, and it seemed accepted, if even appreciated. Even during the few pauses, Becca didn't say a word. Even if they hadn't known each other for long, she knew that Dana wasn't one to admit her feelings. The girl would huddle up in a corner by herself rather than admitting that she was feeling left out or neglected. If she was asked about it, she'd also deny it. Maybe this was exactly what she needed. To vent.

"A month before I was supposed to start school, I had told Alex I wanted a dress. The first day of school felt so special to me, and I wanted to be special when the day arrived. If I would've known what he did for me to get that dress, I would never have asked. If I knew, I wouldn't have asked anything from him ever. I would've walked around naked if I so had to"

-xXx-

 **~ Flashback ~**

 _It was a cool evening in early September. In just two days, Dana was to have her first day in kindergarten. She'd been overjoyous about this day for over a month, and nothing seemed to be able to stop her from smiling. Not even their constantly enraged mother pushed her down as the time went on. Mostly because their mother never took it out over her, but nevertheless. Dana's smiles made life just a little more worthy of living._

 _Alex was slumped down in the sofa, watching his six year old sister play with the teddybear he'd given her on her birthday three years prior. She was sitting on the floor, humming silently to herself. She occasionally hugged the bear close while telling it how special it was and how happy she was that she had it. Alex couldn't hold a chuckle as he thought back on the day he'd bought it for her. She heard him and turned to him with a smile that melted his entire soul. She bounced up from where she'd been sitting and aimed for his lap. He helped her up and held an arm around her shoulders._

 _"You'll walk me to school tomorrowmorrow, right Alex?" she asked cheerfully. He'd taught her a lot during the last year, but there were still some grammar to correct then and now. He didn't blame her though, some terms were a lot harder than others, and it would take some time for her to fully master them._

 _"It's the day after tomorrow, Dana" he corrected with a soft poke on her nose. She giggled and covered her nose with her teddy, still looking at him expectantly. "And yes, I will". She squealed and squirmed in his lap, then hopped off the sofa to resume playing. Alex himself reached for the book he'd left beside him, intent to continue with the homework he had yet to finish. There was still a lot to catch up on after moving to Las Vegas and changing school in the process. Dana interrupted him halfway through the motion._

 _"What about my dress?"_

 _It felt like his heart was cut in half. Alex had been reminded about that dress for a month, and it hurt him each time he had to say no. Their mother barely earned any money these days, and what she did bring home, she spent on either booze or cigarettes. Welfare checks was enough to get them food for the day, but not enough to get any extra money to spend._

 _Just like every other time she'd asked, he smiled sadly and apologized; "No Dana. It's too expensive". And just like every other time he'd said no, she gave her best pout and looked down at the floor while clutching her teddy._

 _"Okay..." she said quietly and resumed her playing, back turned to him. He rubbed a hand over his face while sighing. He could only take so many pouts before his heart caved. And when it did, it caved badly._

-xXx-

 _The following day, Alex took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do. It wasn't the first time, but he'd previously only taken small things, and stuff they only absolutely needed. This wasn't such a time, and yet here he were - entering the front door of a shop where Dana had pointed out the dress she so desperately wanted._

 _He spotted it on the far back, in a rack with several others. He realized he'd never thought about what size would fit Dana, but there wasn't any time to decide on that now. He'd reached the rack. It was now or never. In a single motion, Alex grabbed a hanger with one of the dresses, turned on his heel and ran. The cleric saw him and shouted, but he refused to even think about stopping._

 _There was a sting of victory when the cleric didn't follow him out through the door, but he celebrated it too early. As he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the cleric rise his arm and-_ ** _Shit!_** _A gun was pointing right at him. He pushed himself to run faster, but there was no way he would get away now. He heard the gun fire and pain exploded in his shoulder as the bullet zipped past. He stumbled to the ground, but quickly got up on his feet again. He heard the cleric swear behind him as he rounded a corner. His shoulder throbbed as he pressed a hand to the wound, but a short laugh still pressed past his lips. While that hadn't been the closest he'd been to getting caught, it had most definitely been the most dangerous situation since he first resorted to stealing._

 _After Dana had stubbornly insisted that she take care of Alex and had set the wound with gauze just a little too loose, he announced he'd gotten her a surprise. He'd thrown the dress into the coat closet when she went to get what medical supplies they had after realizing he was bleeding. Thankfully, she hadn't noticed it before then. It was meant to be a surprise, and there was no point to announce it as such if she'd already seen it._

 _Her face shone up and she practically bounced in excitement as she followed Alex to the entrance hall to pick up the dress. "Something to wear on your first day of school" he said, pulling it out of the closet and holding it up for her to see. It was a skirt-dress with white top and black skirt with pink polka dots - a light pink ribbon separating the two colors. With it came an equally pink bow to tie into the hair._

 _The overjoyed expression on Dana's face upon seeing that dress was the one thing that made everything worth it in the end. The only thing that could make Alex happy anymore._

 **~ End of flashback ~**

-xXx-

Rebecca had started to softly rock Dana where they were sitting on their mattress on the floor of the dusky cellar room. After hearing that story, she was now ready to cry herself. Not only because she felt for her friend, but also because Dana didn't seem to have any tears left to shed. Or maybe she simply didn't want to cry anymore - didn't want to show such weakness. But Rebecca knew there was no way to hold back on this. If Dana didn't want to let go of the grief, she'd do it for her. She was worthy of at least that.

"He did so much for me" Dana whispered hoarsely. Rebecca could tell she was tired. "He did so much, and I gave nothing back..."

Once again, Becca felt her heart ache upon hearing the other ravenhead speak. She who always was so happy and positive had over just a couple of minutes transformed into a broken, empty shell. It was like she had become a totally different person. Rebecca hated it. They hadn't known each other for long, but they'd clicked the moment they shook hands. It was love at first sight, as some smart person once said.

Dana had soon fallen asleep in Rebecca's arms. She carefully put her down on the mattress and pulled the duvet over her. She might've been exhausted and needed sleep, but that didn't change the fact that there was other things that needed to be done.

"We still need to get groceries" she said when she was within earshot of both Lucy and Shaun. They both had been quiet during Dana's story, doing whatever they were doing at their laptops. They looked up at her when she spoke however, Shaun trying to discreetly wipe a tear from his eye, unsuccessfully.

"I'll come with you" Lucy offered as she stood up. "We shouldn't be alone out there, and especially not right now"

Whatever that had meant, Rebecca didn't inquire about it further, but she held her hand up and shook her head slowly. "You don't have to, Lucy"

Shaun quickly chimed in; "Rebecca-"

"Please, Shaun" she pleaded, breaking off what compelling argument he was about to say. She didn't want them with her right now. It wasn't a long way to the store, and now that she knew she was wanted by more than the templars, she'd be more careful and on her guard. Lucy was still hesitant.

"Take a gun with you, just in case" Shaun said, defeated. Lucy sighed and nodded, admitting to the defeat as well.

"Don't get caught again, alright" she warned, pausing while Rebecca picked the gun from the table before continuing; "We won't be able to save you as fast as he did"

That did strike a chord, but she didn't say anything about it. The look she got from Shaun made her gut wrench. It wasn't she that had lost someone today. They should be pitying Dana, not her. Alright, she was sort of in a state of grief, but Dana was broken. She was the only one with a right to get pitied.

Without another word, Rebecca left the building.

* * *

 **To be continued...**

-x-x-x-x-x-

The flashback scene was inspired by/taken from ch13 of _Our Past Defines Us_ by LeoArcana here on FF. I highly recommend you to read it for an adaptation of Alex and Dana's broken childhood!

fanfiction net/s/8102342/1/Our-Past-Defines-Us


	15. Surprises

**A/N:**

Fifteen chapters. This is the most I've ever written and posted for a single story. I'm not planning on quitting anytime soon, and I do have pretty big plans about this one. I hope we'll get there sooner rather than later, but I don't particularly feel like rushing the chapters. Things will take time, but they will come around.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 15 - Surprises**

* * *

He'd lost track of time. He didn't know how long it had been since the sun rose over the horizon. He didn't know how long or how far he'd walked. How many people he might've terrified while walking past, or how many infected he'd pushed to the ground to allow him free passing. He'd lost count of how many steps he'd taken and how many times he'd turned around the corner of the block. Neither did he care about any of these things. The burning rage he'd previously felt was extinguished, and the steam that followed had burned out. With no anger left to use and no bloodlust left to still, he'd resorted to walking. It didn't matter where, he just did. He did because there was nothing entertaining left to do.

He didn't anymore look where he was going. He didn't see the terrified faces of men and women that dragged their children by their wrists to make sure they didn't fall behind. He didn't hear their panicked cries or the constant moaning and growling from the infected around him. He'd stopped caring about them, just as they'd stopped caring about him. Neither did he sense the heaviness of the air around him, or how it cleared as he walked on through the streets.

Sand in a desert. An exhaustion he couldn't find a reason for had filled his being, numbing his senses. What remained, though faint, was the knowledge of a smell seemingly coming from all around him. The reason for his outburst had faded from his memory, just like the need to get revenge for whatever he'd previously needed to get revenge for. He knew that there was. Why, how, when and where wasn't anymore important. Thoughts and emotions had faded into a blur, melting together with all that was his current reality. Not important.

 _The smell. Stronger there. Fading. Turn._

 _Voices whispering. Screams echoing. People dying. Voices. Faces. Pain. Death. Corruption._

 _Not important._

 _The smell... Peace. Quiet. Friendly._

 _Follow._

 _Voices._

 _"Alex"_

 _Voices..._

 _Alex . . . ._

 _Alex..._

 ** _Alex._**

-xXx-

He blinked. Sounds and smells whipped his senses. Awareness flowed into his mind, reigniting the light as memories of a recent past was awakened. A single name; Rebecca. More memories and a flurry of images. He remembered.

For hours upon hours, he'd killed, killed and killed again for no other reason than to kill. All the death, fear and pain was contained within his mind, screaming to be heard, begging to be freed. The chaos was worse than anything he'd felt. Pain whipped his temples as the voices increased in both strength and energy. Just as he thought his head would explode, everything suddenly vanished. All gone, as if they'd never been there at all.

Without the visions flashing past his retinas, he could now see the world clearly again. Alex stopped dead in his tracks as his ice blue eyes met a pair of steely gray. She was standing just a few meters away, her gray eyes wide. The black-haired girl was looking at him like he'd grown a spiked tail, and he looked back as if she were a creature from his nightmares. A single word then passed through his mind.

 _ **Monster.**_

Before he could speak or turn on his heel, she called his name yet again and was jogging toward him. He reached his hands up to sign for her to stop, the thoughts of what he might do to her running amok in his head.

"Rebecca" he stammered, but something caught his attention and halted all his attempts to stop her from coming any closer. The smell. It was yet fresh in his mind, and he now knew he would recognize it anywhere. It was **her** smell he'd been following? Did that mean she was his-... Had she been the one to also wake him up from the slumbering state he'd been in?

He was too conflicted to resist when her arms was wrapped around his waist. He felt her shiver slightly, a thought passing through his head if she was cold. That couldn't be right though - it was broad daylight outside and the sun stood high. When did that happen anyway? It had been in the middle of the night just a minute ago. Unless he'd been sleepwalking enough hours to miss when night turned to day. The thought would've made him gulp, if not for the warmth still wrapped around him.

"We thought you were dead" she sniffed, her voice muffled by her face being pressed against his chest. In an intake of breath, he could feel the smell she was still emitting. It was riveting and confusing at the same time. Hell, this whole scenario was confusing. Who in their right mind would embrace **him** out of all people?

He grabbed her by the shoulders to push her away from him enough to look her in the eyes, a scowl on his face. "Dead?" he questioned, voice a bit hoarse from his vocal chords still waking up from their slumber. She took a few steps back and cleared her throat as the color in her face slightly reddened.

"There was this old couple at a restaurant we went to and they kinda, uhhh ... claimed that they'd seen you...", she was waving her hands in front of her, as if looking for the right word to use. "Zombiefied" she went for, clasping her hands together. The tension he sensed was quickly shrugged off by her as she flicked her wrist, as if to wave it all off as nonsense. "They were obviously mistaken though. I mean, you're here and very much alive if I'm to judge. Heh, old people and their eyes, you know?"

He didn't, but he didn't question her further. This whole scenario was strange enough as it was already, and he didn't need to have her break his private bubble again. Involuntary, proximate bodily contact was uncomfortable, to say the least. He'd gotten enough of that for at least three weeks now, that's for sure.

Just then, the details of what Rebecca had just said dawned upon him. People had seen him during his episode, and they had told her, and in turn, she undoubtedly would've told-... "Dana-!" he blurted and went for darting back toward their hideout. The ravenhead stopped him before he could though by placing herself in his way.

"Woah, big guy" she called while holding her palms out in front of him, as if she was calming a wild animal. It made an anger well up inside him, but he held back on taking any actions. He would listen to what she had to say - if she said it within about two and a half seconds. And she did; "Dana was exhausted after we got back to the cellar. To hear that you were supposedly dead took a major toll on her"

A pang of what he knew to be guilt settled in his stomach. He'd worried her. And to the point of tears. He'd been _'self-obsessive'_ without thought about what that might do to others. He reached a hand up to rub his face, exhaling deeply. "Let her sleep for at least a few minutes, alright?" Rebecca suggested, and though it was the last thing he wanted right now, he realized it was for the best. At the very least she was safe, and as long as that was true, he shouldn't have to worry.

"I was just on my way to the store. If you don't have anything better to do, you could always come with me" the ravenhead said after a second, her thumb pointing over her shoulder in the general direction she was headed. Alex, already confused and still a bit dazed from his previous episode, couldn't do else but look at her for a moment, then gave a grunt in agreement. With Dana currently unavailable, he had neither better nor worse things to do. He might as well follow her just to have something to do.

-xXx-

It wasn't a long walk, but bothersome enough to make Alex want to bail from the area as soon as he could. When Rebecca asked if he wouldn't accompany her inside, he insisted with his arms crossed over his chest that he stay outside. He wasn't in the mood to surround himself with people right now. Thankfully, she didn't comment about it. "Suit yourself" she said before vanishing through the door. He exhaled deeply. Now alone, he could start wondering about the most recent things that had happened.

The restlessness. He remembered it now as clear as day. Apart from the constant gray flickering, it was the only thing he remembered from his slumber. The voices and images... It was so much alike taking a memory, and yet very different. It had been more powerful, and there had been so much **more**. Not of anything specific, just more. He knew that it had barely lasted for a few seconds, but it felt to him like hours. Was he perhaps ... having a flashback ... of flashbacks..? As strange as it seemed, it was the only thing that made sense to him.

Any further line of thought was interrupted when his enhanced hearing picked up a sound all to familiar to him. The static of a radio. Quick as a snake, Alex scanned the surroundings, and like he'd suspected, a group of blackwatch troopers were closing in on his position. A familiar anger filled his mind anew, reawakening what had previously gone dormant. Blackwatch was a plague worse than the infection that was spreading through the city. To him at least. He couldn't care less what other people thought about them.

With a quick evaluation of the situation, he weighed his options. He wouldn't be able to sneak around the corner without any of them suspecting something, so that was out of the question. It was too late to find and take on any disguise now, they would undoubtedly see him if he were to consume someone. Attacking them directly would cause too much of a commotion, and did also bring the risk of having reinforcements called in. Last resort was stealth - keep hidden and wait for them to pass by.

With his mind made up, Alex swiftly slipped in through the door. He found Rebecca after only a few seconds and took note of her position. They were after her as well, and if he wanted to avoid another troublesome rescue mission, he'd better make sure she too stayed out of their sights.

-xXx-

 _Rebecca's P.O.V._

The store wasn't very big, so it went quick to find the stuff she needed. Bread, ham, some fruit, canned food of different kinds, painkillers, two bottles of carbonated water and a few other things. On her way to the medical section her attention was caught as she passed through a small section of electronics. She'd heard things about the stores of Manhattan, but this was beyond her expectations.

In just a small area, the store owners had managed to pack in a whole bunch of stuff. To any other person it would just look like regular computer stuff, but to Rebecca it was so much more. Thousands upon thousands of tiny little gadgets that could be separated only to be rebuilt into something better and more efficient. Upon looking at every article, new ideas spawned in her head. She found the urge to build - to create.

Just as she reached for one of the articles stashed on the shelves, the basket she'd been holding was ripped from her hand. As she'd promised Lucy, this time she was ready for anything that might be wanting to hurt or use her. She reached for the gun tucked in the hem of her pants, but her attacker was about ten times faster. Before she was even able to react, a hand was propped over her mouth and she was promptly pulled backwards. Someone had captured her from behind without as much as a sound for a warning.

A muffled yelp left her before her back was pressed against something warm and soft. Now sitting on her ass on the floor, hidden behind the side of a shelf, she held her breath while her heart rate picked up. She didn't have a chance against this one. Once again she was captured without any means to fight back. She could already see the look Lucy would give her if they ever met each other again after today.

Rebecca was about to start struggling when the scent reached her nose. Leather, sweat, blood, and gunpowder. Alex's scent. Every muscle in her body was suddenly relaxed, and she couldn't do else but obey when he hissed at her to be quiet. She wasn't under attack, they were hiding. From who? The templars? Blackwatch?

Her mind didn't get much further than that. She was suddenly aware of how warm Alex was. How his hands felt against her skin and wrapped around her waist. The steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Their imminent proximity and how fast her heart was beating. That happy, skittering feeling was back in her stomach. All together, it made her face heat up. It felt like forever, and yet somehow, too short until the hand covering her mouth moved.

"You could have just, you know, told me to hide" she chuckled awkwardly, voice breaking into falsetto through half the sentence, much to her frustration.

"They would've seen you" he stated bluntly. He released his grip around her, evidently expecting her to get up. She did scoot forward and away from him, but didn't trust her legs enough to carry her just yet. They felt strangely shaky.

She cleared her throat. "Right" was all she could come up with. _Brilliant Rebecca. Just brilliant._

"Get up" she heard him speak from above her. Just like the last time he'd said it - the first time they'd met - she was up on her feet in an eyewink. This time though, she hadn't just woken up from a strange sort of narcosis, and was steady on her feet. "We better be out of here before they come back".

Good old Alex was back, that's for sure. Rebecca pressed her lips into a line while nodding, but irked a thumb toward the cashier. "Pay first" she stated, quickly turning on her heel before any more surprises would scare her out of her wits.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	16. Unexpected

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 16 - Unexpected**

* * *

For a reason unknown, Alex had been able to put up with Rebecca's drabbles all the way back to the apartment complex. He'd rolled her eyes at her countless of times and snorted even more, but he did admit to himself that while she was indeed tiresome to listen to, it was becoming more bearable. He figured it could have something to do with her likeness to Dana. Her cheekbones, jawline, color of hair. The way she moved and talked also had a lot of similarities to his sister. If he didn't know better, he'd thought them to be twins. He realized he actually didn't know. He didn't remember anything before waking up in that morgue in the basement of Gentek. It was completely blank whenever he tried to think back, except for the brief flashes of seemingly random things. For all he knew, his suspicions might as well be true. In which means, Rebecca would also be **his** sister. Huh...

As they entered the front doors leading them into the lobby, Alex's instincts started to silently whisper in his ear. With every step he took it increased, until it was a wrench in his stomach. Paranoia was what made him whip his head around to glare into the dark hallway on the other side of the room. The same feeling that had overwhelmed him back at the dump was back, though to a lesser extent. Something was out there, creeping around in the dark. He was about to go find out what, when Rebecca spoke up.

"Alex? Are you coming, or what?"

He turned back toward the ravenhead that had accompanied him all the way here. She had cocked an eyebrow at him and was standing with a hand on her hip, the other holding the two bags with the stuff she'd bought from the store. Two choices then swirled in his head. Either he come with her and deal with this later, or take care of it now and risk her finding out about him. The choice was made when she opened her mouth again; "Dana is down there with the others. I didn't want her to be alone in the state she was in".

He grit his teeth against the feeling and gave a grunt for a response. There wasn't any imminent threat, so it could wait. Dana couldn't. He had to see her, make sure she was okay. He had to prove to her that he was still with her and not a wandering corpse like she thought he was. Not like he'd been some minutes ago...

He pushed the thoughts out of his head and followed Rebecca down the flight of stairs, down to the steel door that would lead them to the damp cellar where the others were waiting. There was about half a second of hesitation. Did they all think he was dead? Last time he was down here, the guy they called Shaun had pointed a gun to his head, and before that, the blonde girl had been anything but friendly toward him. They weren't exactly on good terms, and he doubted it had changed by him dying and resurrecting. But then again, what did it matter? If they proved to be a liability, he'd just have to get rid of them.

While Alex was intent on getting out of the hallway as soon as possible, Rebecca obviously had other plans. Instead of pushing the door open for them to walk inside, she squeaked it open only enough for her to peek her head in. He heard her whispering about something, but his ears were focused behind them. He wasn't about to get jumped by one of those walkers again. Last time wasn't exactly a success, and he had no intentions whatsoever to repeat it. He'd have to take care of that soldier eventually. He knew too much already, and having him around was simply not good. He could hope that the military would deal with him themselves, but doubted that he could be so lucky.

Six long seconds after they first stepped down the stairs, the door was finally opened to reveal the dank cellar. Rebecca looked back at him with a grin as she stepped to the side to let him pass. He would've cocked an eyebrow at her if not for the creeping feeling of being followed, as well as the looks he got from the people in the room. The debate whether he should step inside or turn on his heel was cut short when the ravenhead urged him on. A sigh trough his nostrils, then the door closed shut, and he was yet again in a room full of people he didn't know if he could trust. Rebecca had proved herself enough for now, but the other three.

Both of the blondes looked at him as if he'd been a ghost. In all honesty, he might as well be. Resurrected from the dead. Cured after becoming a walker. What else did he expect? Flowers and confetti? Yea, like that'd ever happen.

"Dana is resting over there" Rebecca said softly, a hand touching his arm as she nodded toward one of the mattresses. It was placed behind some piece of equipment, so he couldn't see her from where he was standing. He hesitated barely a second, looking over Rebecca a second time for any signs of a lie. Seeing nothing, he walked around, and as promised, Dana was sleeping soundly on the mattress. He almost didn't dare come any closer, her expression when she told him to basically fuck the hell off clear as day in his head. She'd been pissed at him, and he had no idea if she'd feel the same way when she would wake up.

Nevertheless, he went for sitting down on the floor close to her head. He watched her snuggle deeper under the duvet, mumbling incoherent things and incomplete sentences. She was dreaming, he realized. By the crease of her eyebrows, it wasn't a pleasant one. He adjusted his position to sit cross-legged, subconsciously scooting a little closer. There was a sting in his chest as his name passed her lips. Was she having bad dreams about him? Did she experience him dying, or was he a monster that killed anyone and everyone she cared about? Both scenarios made a scowl appear on his face. His hands reached up to comb through his hair, pulling the hood down as he did. He wanted to wake her up. Take her in his arms and rock her slowly. He did neither - didn't see a reason for it.

She startled him by suddenly jerking up to a sitting position, a yelp leaving her. Rebecca, wherever she was, didn't come to her aid, apparently content with just Alex there. Unlike what she thought though, he had no idea what to do. He could only helplessly wait until his instincts would kick in, telling him to fight or flight. They didn't. Even when she turned her head to look at him, they stayed silent. Their eyes met, and he held his breath.

"Alex...?" she breathed. He blinked, not knowing what to respond - or if he should. Half a second later, his head was whipped to the side from the force of her hand hitting his face. While it was surprising, he didn't blame her. She had thought him to be dead.

"What the hell were you up to Alex?!" Dana scolded, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "You were gone for **three days** and you came back only to leave again. You never come back to eat, you barely sleep and I have no idea where you go or how long you'll be gone. Dammit Alex, they told me you were dead! That you had become one of those-..! They told me you were gone.. I thought I'd lost you..."

Alex knew all of this. He'd seen the sun set and rise during his escapades, even if he wasn't exactly available. He'd been busy draining memories and searching for what information he could get a hold of. His searches were more often than not fruitless, but once he did get something, it was valuable. He'd found out what blackwatch had to say about him, what they knew and what they didn't. He knew that the island had been quarantined with no way off. He knew they were planning something big, but as of yet, only bits and pieces had fallen into place.

Dana was silent for a moment. He could hear the shuffling of fabric and her irregular breathing. The fact that he'd yet again made her upset was tearing at his insides. Even if he wasn't looking at her, he could see her teary eyes in front of him. A vague memory pushing up into his conscience, reminding him that she'd been worried. She worried about him, and she was one of the only things he cared about anymore. Perhaps the only thing.

Frail arms wrapped around him, surprising him once more. Her face buried down into the crook of his neck, wetting it with her tears. For about a second, he was paralyzed. What was he supposed to do? He didn't remember- Couldn't recall. Then finally, something came to his aid. A voice in the back of his head. _'Comfort. Time. Patience'_. Slowly, hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Intimate bodily contact, but this time more or less subconsciously wanted.

The feeling of eyes on him made him glance in the direction he knew the others were. Rebecca was sitting in her fold-out chair, seemingly trying to hide behind the screen of her laptop. There was a slight discoloration of her cheeks, but she fired a smile at him and winked. Was that her way of saying _'way to go'_? He snorted. _Humans..._

-xXx-

Soon enough, Dana had fallen asleep again, though this time her head was resting on her brother's chest. Alex himself was lying on his back, arms crossed behind his head to support it. His eyes were closed, mind traveling. He'd seemingly lost the ability to sleep after losing his memory. It didn't exactly bother him, but it could sometimes become troublesome, since he would have to entertain himself instead of sleeping during the nights. Either that or continue with his little revenge mission, if one could call it that.

As if an upper deity or some other being had heard his thoughts, his instincts kicked in. Barely a second later, a loud, metallic clank resonated through the room. The little flames in the oil lamps flickered, and so did Alex's eyes. The sound had come from one of the doors. He remembered the feeling he'd had back in the lobby-

" **Rebecca, don't!** " he shouted, on his feet in an eyewink. Too late. She'd already pushed down the handle, and the door practically flung open in her face. In turn, a creature with poorly evolved blades for arms threw itself over her, pinning her to the ground. Alex had about a tenth of a second before it would burrow its teeth into her shoulder, ripping through flesh and most likely infecting her in the meantime, if it hadn't already just by being here.

Suddenly he was the one pinned, trying to push off the abomination, with no success. The blank space in his memory should bother him, but he was a little busy at the moment. If he'd been alone, he would've slashed the damn thing's throat. Get it over with. With them here though, risking detection and getting blackwatch sent on his ass? No thanks.

Like before, he got a leg in between them and flung the creature to the side. He followed close behind to tackle it with his shoulder, knocking it off balance. A fist connected with its head, then an elbow to its back. It growled at him, enraged, and got up on all fours to charge. Alex, brilliant as he was, completed the calculation in a mere second, one foot sliding backwards as it jumped. It was defenseless while in the air. He reached out with both arms to trap its head between his hands, then pulled down abruptly to slam its forehead against his knee. It dropped lifeless to the ground.

His instincts still raged inside him - there were more of them. He should've dealt with it before making his way inside. Dammit- Rebecca- _'Check. Care. Infection'_. He couldn't do else but blindly listen to the instinct. Walking over to her, he could confirm that she was okay, if a little shaken. Having that over with, he could divert his attention to more important things.

" **Get that thing out of here!** " be barked, stomping through the door and knocking a walker to the ground with a fist to its face.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	17. Aftermath

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 17 - Aftermath  
**

* * *

The night was calm, a soft breeze bringing the smell of water from the west, rinsing away some of the heavy, dead air. Stars were littering the sky, not a cloud to be seen. Far away was the sound of screaming and chaos, but it sort of fitted into the picture. In short, it was sort of beautiful. Peaceful and quiet.

Alex didn't see it. He was sitting on the edge of the roof with his eyes on the horizon, but his thoughts were somewhere else entirely. He was thinking about the recent events he'd been through during the past 40 hours. Dana's outburst, his own rage, the hundreds upon hundreds of stolen memories. The very few words he'd shared with the green-eyed marine. The restlessness. He figured it should've freaked him, but as of now he didn't feel a thing. He just knew it had happened - accepted it. He'd given in... Became a zombie, as Rebecca had put it.

He didn't remember much before his episode, and not a lot during it either. He just knew there had been a clean rage scorching through him, and that he'd silenced the bloodlust. It was strange to think about it in such a way, but it was nevertheless true. There had been an urge to kill. Not hunger, not revenge, just kill. Drop as many bodies as possible within a limit of three minutes. Hundreds.

Footsteps was what brought Alex out of his thoughts. In the stairway, then the door opened and closed. They paused for a moment before walking closer to him. From the sound, he knew they were human. An infected would've dragged its feet, growled and had trouble with getting through the door. On later thought, it was quite easy to figure out who it was. No one else would come all the way up here to look for him - to see that he was okay. He probably wasn't, but frankly, he didn't know what _'okay'_ meant anymore. It was a term that was becoming more and more foreign to him.

"There you are" Rebecca mumbled as she sat down beside him. He gave a grunt for response, but kept his eyes on the horizon. He didn't need to look at her to know that she was inspecting him. He could feel her gaze checking him out from top to toe. She practically oozed with that strange smell again. No, it was more of a sensation rather than a smell. Pheromones? Were those even noticeable? He knew dogs could sense them, but him? How-

"So... You saved me. _Again_ " she said with a chuckle. Indeed he did. This time had been too close though. He still wasn't sure how he'd been able to get to her in time, but the best way to explain it to the others would probably be an adrenaline rush. He'd heard of those when blending into the crowds close to military bases. It was apparently a thing when someone was close to death or a similar experience. He knew it hadn't been a rush. There hadn't been any boost of heart rate or blood pressure. Did he even have a heart? A live, beating heart... He had his doubts.

Rebecca interrupted his thoughts again. "It's strange to see you without the hood" she said, pulling her legs up to rest her chin on her knees. She turned her head to join him in looking at the horizon, perhaps curious if Alex was glaring at anything in particular.

 _'It's strange to hear you to talk to me'_ he wanted to reply, but kept quiet. As bothersome as it was to talk to people, the feeling he got from those ... pheromones ... was strangely soothing. He didn't feel the same anger that constantly seemed to haunt him these days. Her presence was bearable, if not even acceptable. She was... He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He couldn't find a word for it.

He sighed softly and drove a hand through his hair, pulling his hood up while bringing the hand down again. It **felt** strange without anything covering his head. He'd been wearing it ever since the morgue, and he somehow doubted he'd been without it before that point. _'Mercer, Alex J.' 'Ex-Blacklight' '_ _...kill team..'_

The headache was surprising, to say the least. He knew this already - he'd experienced it before, shortly after getting away from Gentek. But then the question started spinning in his head. Who was Alex? Alexander Mercer? And what did the J stand for? Who had he been? Who was he now? **What** was he now?

"Dana told me about you" Rebecca mumbled from where she sat huddled up beside him. This time he actually listened - turned his attention to her. Told her what? What was there to tell? Their not-so-fabulous meeting after he'd found out where she was? Or... "About how you mugged a store to get her a dress for her first day at school..."

What..? Did she mean stealing? Had he...? He didn't remember. His memory was completely blank before Gentek, and if he tried to look further back, there was only someone else's memory. Hundreds of them. Screaming and bawling in his head. A dress for Dana... First day at school. Didn't kids start school at like eight? Ten? How much older was he? Think Alex, think. Nine. He was nine years older than her. Definitely nine. He stole from a store at the age of 16? Or was it 17..? It didn't matter. It was a past life - one which he obviously didn't remember. But did he want to remember? Didn't he want to know who he was before losing his memories?

"I'm glad you're here- We both are" she continued, shifting a little in her place to adjust her position. "She really cares about you, and... I care about her... I'm so glad you're not one of those monsters..."

 ** _Monster._**

It echoed in his head like the scream of a siren. If she only knew how wrong she was. He wasn't human, like she was. She couldn't walk away from a bullet wound like it was nothing - he could. He shouldn't be able to. But if he wasn't human, what was he? Zeus? An alias. A creature without any identity. Without feelings and without purpose. A monster. That's what he was. That's all he was. All he'd ever be-

Alex rubbed his temple while exhaling. He'd have to stop thinking. It didn't matter what they thought. It didn't matter what he thought either, since it would do nothing to stop the facts from being facts. He was here, the virus was still spreading, and he would have to put a stop to it. It was connected to him somehow, even though he still didn't know the details of it. He was able to pick up skills and memories from those he consumed. He'd use that to get closer to the source. Chop off the head of the snake and it would stop spreading the venom it produced.

"Thank you, Alex - again"

He blinked. If she had come all the way up here to thank him, why not start with that? Get it over with so she could go back down to do whatever she did best. Alex knew he wasn't exactly good at reading people, nor understanding them, but he would usually have a hint of what they could be feeling. This time though, he didn't have the slightest idea. Either it was during this moment, caused by the recent events, or Rebecca was just impossible to read. Which she shouldn't be, as she was apparently quite open with her emotions. Not to mention those strange pheromones he'd began sensing from her. Perhaps he was just out of it...

-xXx-

It was a few minutes later that Rebecca pushed the door to the cellar open. She held her breath while closing it to make as little sound as possible not to wake the others. After checking over their stuff and making sure everything was in order, she tip-toed over to the mattress she currently shared with Dana. She was snuggled deep into the duvets and fast asleep. Becca couldn't help but smile at the sight. She was clearly feeling better now that she knew Alex was okay. She didn't blame her.

Just as she was getting to snuggling down beside her, Rebecca spotted a blonde Brit sitting in a fold-out chair at one of the desks. His hands were knitted in his lap, legs stretched out in front of him and his head hung back. Soft snores escaped him together with the occasional twitch of his eyebrows. Lucy was sleeping on the second mattress, all snuggled up and not a sound leaving her. Desmond was in a similar position, but had turned to lay on his side sometime when she wasn't looking. Perhaps she should check on him before tucking herself in.

"Sorry Des, but I have to check the bandages" she whispered as she reached up to him. It was almost automatic when her hand found its way to his forehead, pushing away some loose strands of brown hair to feel his temperature. He did seem a little warmer than normal. She'd have to tell Lucy once she would wake up. If she didn't notice it herself first. The bandages didn't look all too bad. They would do until the morning.

With that scratched from the list, Rebecca went back to Dana after throwing a thin blanket over Shaun. He didn't exactly look like he was freezing, but it was rather chilly down here, all things considered. It wasn't surprising, being almost September. In less than two months, snow might start falling from the sky. That would be a sight to see. In the midst of Manhattan, sitting on a rooftop wrapped in a blanket while the snow slowly fell. Maybe in front of a campfire watching the sun set and stars taking its place in the sky. It seemed almost too good to be true.

Dana stirred where she lay when Rebecca pulled at the duvets. She turned slightly and a pair of tired blue eyes squinted to look what had disturbed her sleep. They lightened up a little at the sight of Rebecca. "You've been up all night?" Dana asked while rubbing her eyes and sitting up slightly. She moved to give place for her friend to lay down.

"Not all night" was the response given. Rebecca chuckled while crawling into bed and snuggling up at her friends side. "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. Alex's fault" she admitted, a secretive smile on her face. Dana cocked an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything. "He was also up... I found him stargazing on the roof"

"Stargazing?". Now Dana was thoroughly confused. Her brother wouldn't willingly do such a thing, would he?

"Well, no. His eyes looked pretty blank. I think he was thinking"

"More likely". They both giggled softly before huddling deeper under the duvets and closer to each other. The warmth were comforting; calming. A little soothing.

"He's special, your brother" Rebecca mumbled into Dana's hair. It almost made her chuckle.

"Tell me about it" she said, pulling the covers closer.

"When I spoke to him... He seemed stressed about something"

Dana turned over to face Rebecca and scrunched up her eyebrows. "How do you mean?"

"Well..". Rebecca bit her lip, thinking about the right thing to say. He hadn't been exactly _'stressed'_ , more like distracted. As if there was a lot on his mind and he wasn't sure how to deal with it all. Yea, that was more accurate. "I think he has a lot on his mind. He-"

"Giirrrllllssss-..." came the whining yawn from Shaun. They'd apparently disturbed him with their little chatter. He gave them both a look that could kill before squirming in the chair, as if trying to lie down on his side. It didn't go too well and he settled with leaning over the desk, resting his arms and head on it. It didn't look all too comfortable, but he fell asleep quicker than lightning. The ravenheads looked at each other and choked their giggles.

"You're right, Shaun's totally louder" Dana whispered, making Rebecca have to burrow her face into the pillow not to break into laughter.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	18. Safety First

x

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 18 - Safety First**

* * *

"Did you get anything from Karen?"

Dana and Alex had retreated upstairs to their hideout. After the recent events it felt almost strange to be back, digging through files and folders to find information about the things Alex had seemingly forgotten about. Dana was concerned about that specific part. It looked too real for him to be faking it, but it freaked her out a little. She'd asked him about what had happened, but he really didn't seem to have a clue. It had crossed her mind a few times that what if she were the one to lose her memory. If she didn't remember her past, what would happen to her? What would she do? Would she remember that Alex was her brother? Would she even remember her own name? It was surreal to think about.

Dana turned in her chair to look at her brother. A few things ran through her mind at that moment. One thing was the harshness of his eyes, the other was the state Manhattan was in. She hadn't seen all too much, but enough to know something was incredibly fucked up and just wrong on so many levels. She also knew that if something wasn't done about it, a lot of bad things could happen. Very bad.

"No" he responded. He had yet again placed himself in the sofa, but instead of leaning back and looking relatively relaxed, he was now sitting with his elbows resting on his knees, glaring at the floor. Though it wasn't a rare sight to see him upset, angry or in deep thought, Dana couldn't help but frown when he was. She wanted to help him more than those times he asked for it. Wanted, but he probably wouldn't let her. And she couldn't exactly go out there and punch on some marines with just her hands for no apparent reason. No, they'd just pick her up like some doll and use her to get to Alex. She couldn't risk that.

"Where is she now?"

"Safe" he said, getting up from his seat and flicking off some invisible dirt from his jacket. "Will you stay here?"

His cold gaze seemed to look right through her. A shiver trailed down her spine, but she nodded. Alex exhaled before turning to head out. Again without a word of what he was thinking, and Dana scowled. After these two days with no rush, he was intent in resuming whatever mad manhunt he had going for himself. Maybe he was stressed after all, and she'd just made it worse by being complicated. She sighed. Let him run off to do his thing and she'd stay here by her lonesome and watch time slowly tick by. Or that's what she would've done a few days ago. Now she had a walkie with her and could contact Rebecca if she got bored. Which-...

 _"Hey Dana, you there?"_ came a voice from the little device placed beside the laptop on her desk. She spun around in the chair and picked it up.

"What's up? Need me to massage your feet?"

Rebecca gave off a short laugh from the other end of the line. _"Now **that** would be awesome, but no"_ she said, becoming serious. _"Desmond ain't looking too good. Lucy want a real doctor to look at him, but we don't have any access to the internet to look for one. We thought maybe you had any ideas"_

"Yea, let me check" Dana responded and put the walkie down. She was quite certain she'd seen something among the files stored on the laptop. It was the one Alex had sent her before seemingly disappearing from the face of earth. She wondered for a moment what he'd been doing during that time. And what could possibly have happened to put him at the top of the militia's wanted list? Not to mention, how was he able to stalk around the city with that status? It seemed like there were men in military uniforms around every other corner. She couldn't know, and unless he told her she doubted that she'd ever find out.

"Alright, I found something" she announced through the walkie. It took a few seconds before anyone responded. She guessed they were busy taking care of Desmond and each other. It surprised her a little to hear Lucy's voice.

 _"What did you find?"_

"Blackwatch has been keeping an eye on this doctor after he quit his work at Gentek. His name is Bradley Ragland. He should be at the St. Paul's Hospital until nine tonight."

 _"That's on the other side of Manhattan. We can't move him right now, not that far"_

Dana exhaled softly and dragged her hands over her face. If it was that bad, maybe she should go down to help. She didn't know much, but enough to be able to figure out what he might be needing next. She heard Shaun's voice in the background, but the sound quality wasn't exactly great in these walkies. She'd have to go down or ask him to come closer if she wanted to hear him properly.

She turned down the volume and got back to what she was reading on the laptop. There was more information about Dr. Ragland, but none which she was particularly interested in right now. She kept scrolling through files - audio, video and text documents. One thing caught her interest. An audio file which she understood was a recorded phone call. There wasn't anything specific about this file, it just seemed ... interesting. Her eyes widened when she heard the voice of her brother.

 _"She wasn't infected naturally. She was a damn test subject!"_. He sounded angry; threatened perhaps. By the things she'd gathered about this whole thing, Gentek was up to something. Alex had asked her to look them up, but was apparently also looking into things for himself. That was probably one of the reasons why the militia wanted him so bad.

A voice she didn't recognize answered him; _"We don't know that"_

 _"This whole thing stinks. We're being set up"_

There was a bit of flicker in the audio, so she couldn't quite hear what they said to each other until the other guy spoke again, a little louder this time; _"What are you gonna do?"_.

Alex was most definitely enraged when he responded; _"Whatever I have to!"_

Dana covered her face with her hands as the audio stopped. Alex, what did you do? What in the world happened to you? She wished she could ask him, but wasn't sure if he'd remember. With the recent amnesia he'd acquired, she couldn't be sure of what he remembered and not. Did he remember **anything** at all? From their childhood, their mom, how he basically raised her with his own two hands? The thought almost made her sick. If he didn't remember, how did he know that she was his sister? Did he even do that, or was it all just a big, fat lie?

 _'Stop thinking about this, Dana'_ she told herself. Either he did or not, he'd been there for her, and that counted for something. He'd cared for her when she needed it, and he'd cared even when she hadn't asked and didn't want it. If she knew anything about her brother, it was that he didn't particularly care about things he didn't deem important. And there wasn't a lot of things he would deem important. If she knew her brother, which she hoped she did, he still cared because he remembered.

 _"Dana?"_

She flinched when the walkie sparked and projected Rebecca's voice. She exhaled with a hand on her chest while picking it up and pushed down the button. "Yeah?" she responded.

 _"Lucy wants to give Desmond something for his fever, but we're out of supplies. Do you know where we can get some? I checked the store when I was outside yesterday, but they didn't have much"_

Dana ran her fingers over the keyboard in search for anything that could be related to a pharmacy, but no such luck. She bit her lip while thinking. Perhaps there was something on the other end of Times Square? She turned her head to look at the map of Manhattan that was hung up on the wall. Let's see... _'Think Dana'_ she prompted.

"There might be..."

 _"Might?"_

"There should be a pharmacy three blocks south of Times Square. It's been ages since I was there, so I don't know if it's still open but-"

 _"If it isn't, we'll bust it. This fucking city is doomed anyway"_ came the snarky response from Shaun. Dana's eyebrows shot up to her forehead, and she could hear Rebecca shout in the background. _"Dana, come downstairs. We'll discuss the details"_

And then the line was broken with a spark. Dana took a moment to stare at the walkie. She had an idea that the Brit was explosive at times, but this was going a little over the line, wasn't it? Doomed or not, it was still wrong to break into a store... right..? She sighed softly. Well, they apparently needed her, so she better get her feet moving.

-xXx-

"Good luck you two, and be careful" Dana prompted as Shaun and Rebecca was getting ready to leave the basement a few minutes later. They'd gone over the details of their excursion at least twice. Dana still didn't like it, but someone had to go. Desmond wasn't about to get better from just sleeping, and they didn't have enough resources down here to help him. Lucy had been quite clear about that earlier on, telling them to get what they needed whatever the cost. It had sounded almost like she blamed it on them.

Dana looked over them both to assure that they were as ready as they could be for what was to come. None of them knew for certain how the situation was in central Manhattan. They all had read about it in one way or another, but they hadn't actually been out there - hadn't seen it in reality. Alex had, and Dana almost didn't recognize him. She could only imagine the things he'd been through, and to think that it had changed him so much was frightening. What if the same thing would happen to them?

"Hey, Dana" Rebecca chimed in, breaking off further thoughts and grabbing Dana gently by the shoulders. Their eyes met, and she could see a hesitancy in that endless ocean of steely gray. "We'll be alright. Promise". The smile she fired off almost hurt.

"Do you also promise to be careful?"

Becca chuckled, but nodded in agreement. "I promise" she said. Dana forced a rise in the corners of her mouth. She had a bad feeling about this. Like her brother had phrased it in the audio file she'd listened to earlier - _'this whole thing stinks'_. She didn't want them to leave with all of this shit going on outside. At the very least, she wanted to come with them. They'd agreed that it would be better for her to stay though. They needed her to keep an eye on the map of Manhattan so she could guide them if they needed to. Her memory of the city was still somewhat fresh, and she could connect the dots between where they were and where they should go. Rebecca and Shaun also made a decent team out on the field, so to speak. Lucy needed to stay in order to keep an eye on Desmond.

So without Alex, this was the only reasonable solution. Dana still worried over him. What was he doing outside, and why? He should be hiding like the rest of them - wait until this whole thing was over. At least she hoped it could be over. They'd find a cure for whatever was ravaging around the heart of Manhattan. They had to. But then the question remained; who were _'they'_?

 _"Dana, do you hear us?"_ came a sudden voice in her left ear, causing her to almost jump out of her own skin. Right, the earpiece. The three of them had picked one each to make sure they would be able to keep contact. A crucial detail in a mission like this, where multiple lives were possibly on the line.

Dana tapped the earpiece with her index finger while walking toward the seat where Rebecca would normally sit. "I hear you, Rebecca. Shaun?" she responded, waiting for an answer from the Brit. It came as an acknowledging grunt. She exhaled while sitting down and ran her fingers over the keyboard to find the correct files. "Alright, you need to round the building to get to Times Square. Once you see the big signs, follow the road southward"

"And keep to the alleys" Lucy said from where she was bent over Desmond. Yea, right. They'd have to keep to the shadows in order not to be captured - _again_..

"Keep to the alleys" Dana reminded them, echoing what Lucy had said. "Keep out of sight"

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	19. Streetlights

**A/N:**

From here and on, each chapter will contain more or less gore and foul language. You have been warned.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 19 - Streetlights  
**

* * *

It felt like years before they closed in on the position Dana had pointed them to. They'd just narrowly avoided the militia a few times, and those zombie looking things were increasing in numbers the closer they got. The air was also heavier here, and seemingly stained with something rotten. If this thing that was covering Manhattan was airborne, Shaun had no doubt that they were doomed already. They'd all die a most painful death before they could say _'twinkle'_. Well, at least he'd go down with honor, unlike all these other bastards that were running away screaming the moment something moved.

He gestured for Rebecca to halt and tapped his earpiece. "We're at the intersection. Militia brought a fucking tank to block off the road east".

Dana cursed on the other end. _"That's where you're headed. You need to get past those guys"_ she said and Shaun heard how she tapped a few buttons on the keyboard. How the heck were they supposed to sneak past a **tank**? Out in the open, no less. They'd have to cross the road before they could continue onwards. Militia in the way didn't exactly make things easier. He found himself expecting the girls to come up with a solution for their problem, but it surprised him when they actually did.

 _"Make a run for it"_ Dana and Rebecca said, almost in choir. His eyebrows shot up to his forehead. Doing such a thing was either brilliant or suicide. All of these marines blocking the way would either mistake them for panicking citizens or a pair of ravaging zombies. Ergo, they'd either be ignored or shot on the spot. Shaun didn't like it. He didn't like most of this godforsaken city, but this plan was most definitely the worst. If only Desmond hadn't been so reckless to get himself into trouble, all of this could've been avoided. Dammit, if he hadn't gotten injured in the first place he wouldn't be stuck with a fever now.

To all of their surprises - and to Shaun's relief - they wouldn't have to go through with the plan. A radio carried by a nearby marine sparked to life before a row of orders poured from the device, broken off due to some kind of disturbance.

 _"Zeus ... een spot ... req ... ackup ... low zone ... Chelsea-"_

The mentioning of either _'Zeus'_ or Chelsea was apparently bad news, because as soon as the message finished broadcasting, every single man ran toward the west. The tank took the lead, plowing through the streets, barely caring to stop for either cars or civilians. It looked like a race to the finish line. Everyone wanted to be the first, pushing each other out of the way for a chance to get the highest prize.

"Well, you said to make a run for it, and they certainly listened" Shaun said, still a bit baffled by the sudden change of priority. What the hell was a _'Zeus'_ anyway? Hopefully a codename for some high value target and not the Greek God throwing lightning down on earth. Granted, that would be the end of the world as they knew it.

Rebecca snorted and gave him a pat on his shoulder as she scanned the area. They nodded to each other before jogging over the broad street to reach the other side, where they dived into the next alley. No zombies yet, but Shaun kept his pistol at the ready and senses on alert.

 _"The pharmacy should be about two blocks ahead"_ Dana announced. Rebecca sighed softly as Shaun took the lead through the alley. Having their senses on constant alert was already tiring, and being that neither of them had been out on the field for some time, it took a toll. They didn't speak their minds however, but kept silent as they stalked forward. No zombies, no militia, no civilians. It was too quiet. Shaun was getting a bad feeling about this place.

They spotted the pharmacy on the other side of the street as they peeked around the next corner. Rebecca notified Dana through her earpiece, but Shaun wasn't quite as happy as she was. They should have run into at least **something** on their way here. It had been completely empty all the way from the intersection. Something was about to happen, and it wasn't on the good side.

-xXx-

Barely a minute after they'd climbed in through the smashed window of the abandoned building, a heavy shockwave blew a cloud of dust and various pieces of junk over them. They had thrown themselves on the floor behind the cashier disk, arms covering their heads. It sounded like a fracking meteor had landed just outside on the street, causing a small earthquake. Something really fucked up was going on in this city, and Shaun knew it from the very start. It was one of the reasons why they had searched for cover here, but now he was beginning to wonder if it had been a bad decision. They should've just stayed in Italy. At least there they didn't have to worry about those damned zombie-looking things.

Before the dust could even settle, an army of marines could be heard yelling orders to each other outside. Shaun and Rebecca was quickly on their feet, darting into hiding behind one of the racks containing medical supplies and what not. "Red Crown, reque-" a soldier started, but he was quickly cut off, a disgusting squelch accompanying his death. Shaun swore under his breath, clutching the gun in his hand. They'd have to get out of here, preferably three minutes ago. He peeked around the corner of the rack.

"Shoot it! SHOOT IT!" he heard a man scream, but couldn't see any details through the dust still heavy in the air. He frankly didn't want to, as the gruesome sounds accompanying the death of multiple more soldiers were well enough. What the hell was out there anyway? From what he'd seen, all of those zombies were nothing but mindless shells, stumbling over their own feet until they caught notice of something living. They would swarm towards it, attacking it in herds trying to get a taste of whatever they could get. It was disgusting.

Shaun pulled his head back to turn his attention to his companion. They had to get back to Desmond as fast as possible. "Rebecca-" he hissed, getting her attention, "-you need to get the supplies, I'll cover you". She gave a tense nod in acknowledgement, not really able to give a verbal response. He didn't blame her. During what missions they'd been out on - which wasn't many in the first place - they'd only been out to collect something without actually having to worry about a third world war breaking loose. But here they were, caught in the middle of a fucking battlefield while trying to pick up enough supplies to save their dying friend.

Gunshots and screaming was their background music as they parkoured through the pharmacy to find what things they needed. First grade painkillers, pills for reducing fever, bandages, eye drops, hand sanitizer, dietary supplements of a few different kinds, energy bars, rubbing alcohol, multiple packages of band-aid, a number of toothbrushes because why not, and anti-depressants, whyever they needed that. They stuffed it all into Shaun's backpack and made for the exit - the same way they had entered. He went first with the gun to make sure the way was clear.

He peeked around the corner of the rack he was currently hiding behind. A tank had once more made its way in between them and their path. Dammit. His hand went up to the earpiece to contact Dana, but a screech from behind him stopped his line of thought. He whipped around, gun in hand just as something collided with the wall, causing a small explosion that whipped up dust and debris in his face. Did someone just fire a fucking **grenade launcher** into a pharmacy? What the hell?

Shaun coughed and waved a hand in the air, trying to see through the still settling dust. Little bits of rubble were still falling to the ground from somewhere he couldn't see, and the militia outside were barking orders to each other. They'd lost track of their target, and the shots they fired were either in wild suspicion or at other infected. "Shaun?!" he heard Rebecca shout. From then and on, time seemed to speed up to the double.

Someone barked at them to get the fuck out - a voice Shaun quickly recognized as the guy in leather. What he was doing here was not a question he bothered to ask, as he was currently climbing over debris through the hole made by the grenade. Rebecca was right after him, and before they knew it, they were sprinting away from the scene, hand in hand to make sure they wouldn't lose each other. They didn't stop running until they had thrown themselves into a narrow alley. Only then did they allow to catch their breaths.

"What the fuck just happened?" Shaun gasped while dragging the back of his hand over his forehead. Sweat beaded in his face and on his neck, making his clothes stick to his skin. His companion would surely be in the same state, if not worse. "Are you okay? No injuries, no blood?" he asked, stumbling over to her. She was sitting on the ground with her back to the wall, panting heavily with sweat making her skin sheen. Without the ability to provide a proper verbal response, she just gave a wave of her hand.

Shaun exhaled in relief before tapping his earpiece. "Made it out of the pharmacy, we're making our way back" he announced.

 _"Are you guys okay? There's been a shitload of disruption of the line. What the fuck happened back there?"_ Dana responded, voice dripping with worry. He sighed and helped Rebecca to get back up on her feet while thinking over the question. He didn't know what had happened, since he was still processing it for himself. His stomach had been feeling worse the closer they got though, and he'd been proven to be right. Something did happen, even if it wasn't quite what they expected.

"Marines came back" he stated. It was the truth, right? Why they had was still a question without answer though, but he didn't need any. They were out and they were okay, and now they had to get back to the hideout as soon as possible. Desmond wasn't exactly getting better only because they were successful in escaping. He needed the supplies they'd gathered.

"Alex did too" he heard Rebecca say softly. He arched an eyebrow at the somewhat flowery expression she wore. What was his deal anyway? Showing up at places at just the right time and what not. It was freaky, if anything.

Just then, another shockwave made the building beside them seemingly shiver. It didn't sound like a meteor this time though. No, Shaun vaguely recognized the sound of the explosion. Too small for a grenade or rocket launcher, but too big to be any form of explosives. A tank was the only option left. Now why the hell would they have to use a tank against anything at all? Unless they actually used them against the zombies, which seemed highly unlikely. From the few movies he'd seen, a bullet to the head was well enough. Whether that piece of information was true or not, it seemed likely enough to work.

"Let's go" he said, urging his companion on by her hand. The sooner they got out of this place, the better. Shaun didn't have any intentions whatsoever to get stuck in a corner again, and frankly, he wanted to get back to their hideout. Be it a dank and filthy basement, but to tell the truth, it was the most comfortable one they'd had this far. How one could call a basement comfortable was a question for another time. He just wanted out of the open.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	20. Connections

**_*inaudible screeching*_**

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 20  
**

* * *

Dana and Rebecca was once again seated on their mattress on the floor, this time together with Lucy as well. She'd apparently accepted Dana for the time being - even gave her a hug once Rebecca and Shaun had gotten back from their excursion and things had calmed down with Desmond. Rebecca was glad for that. Dana was trustworthy, and she didn't anymore want to have to pick one or the other. Having them both accepting each other's company was a relief.

There was still a sort of tension between them, but at least now they talked to each other. Lucy had even gone as far as to reveal bits and pieces about her previous life. About her mother, the brother she never really knew, the wish to want kids at an early age, and about the university that kicked her off. Dana showed sympathy at this and shared her own little details about her life here in New York. Rebecca listened intently and took a mental note of the tabloids she had apparently written for. She wondered for a minute if that might've been a detail she'd missed during their earlier conversations.

"So" Lucy spoke up after a second of silence. She stretched her arms and back with a satisfied sigh before looking over at Dana, seeking eye contact. "Alex is your brother". It was a statement rather than a question, but Dana nodded anyway. Rebecca bit the inside of her cheek. Either a fight would very soon erupt, or it was simple small talk. She certainly hoped for the latter.

"He is". Dana leaned backwards to support her weight on her hands. "Though, we were a lot more alike when we were younger. We both have mother's eyes, black hair and a lot of her temper, but there's a lot of his traits that I just can't place. I never knew father, but I don't think he had the same one either. From what I know, mother was not only alcoholic and abusive, but also a prostitute. I don't even want to think about how many she's shared a bed with". Rebecca shuddered. Imagine all the possible STDs she might've caught. _Eugh!_

"Or the amount of STDs" Lucy said with a rise of her eyebrows, grabbing the thoughts right out of Becca's head. All three gave off noises of disgust before falling into a fit of giggles. Little smiles remained on their faces as silence fell. The tension between the individuals currently inside the cellar was slowly but surely easing up, and Rebecca couldn't be happier. It felt good to laugh over simple things with Lucy again. Lately it had felt like they'd grown apart, and she didn't like it. She wanted to be friends with her friend, so to speak. She wanted to be friends with Dana as well, but that was another thing. Lucy and Rebecca had known each other for years, and for it to become unbalanced due to some stranger walking in on them all randomly.. She wouldn't have that. The alternatives were simply unthinkable.

"How is Desmond doing?" Dana asked after a minute. Lucy blinked at her, as if not quite believing that she'd actually asked the question. Why wouldn't she though? Dana cared about Desmond, even if Lucy didn't particularly seem to care about Dana, or her brother for that matter. Rebecca doubted that Lucy would ever see the good in Alex. They'd come off with a bad start, and their first expressions toward each other could definitely had been better. Rebecca shook the image of those piercing blue eyes out of her head. Yea, Alex could definitely use some work on his introductions.

"Thanks to the supplies you helped us get, his fever has gone down" Lucy said while looking back at the mattress their unconscious friend was lying on. Her expression didn't agree with her words however, and there was something unspoken hanging heavily in the air. Dana apparently noticed it too.

"But?" she said, frowning. Lucy hesitated for a short moment before responding.

"But... We might have to seek out that doctor of yours. No amount of meds can sustain him if he doesn't get any nutrients into his system"

"He doesn't eat?" Rebecca asked and looked over at Desmond. He was paler than usual, but would otherwise seem like he was sleeping peacefully. Once again she felt the sting of helplessness. Lucy knew more than her when it came to medicine, and unless they would get time over to educate each other, that fact wouldn't change.

"I managed to wake him up only briefly enough to get the meds down. He was barely conscious and definitely not enough to chew a sandwich" was the answer provided. Lucy looked honestly worried. If Rebecca knew her friend, she knew that Lucy didn't get worried often. She would almost always keep her cool, and unless it was only the two of them or with someone they knew very well, she didn't give in to emotion. She had always been strong mentally, and Rebecca lowkey envied her for it.

What was said next almost came as a relief, but under the current circumstances Rebecca got stuck in a state between relief and agony for her friend. "I'm worried about him.." Lucy spoke, almost inaudibly. Now they could be certain that Desmond wasn't about to get back up on his feet anytime soon. Lucy knew what she was doing, and to hear her verbally express her thoughts couldn't be a good sign. Rebecca processed this for a moment, giving enough room for Dana to express sympathy before her.

"He'll be alright" she said, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder. She sounded so confident in her sentence, and her blue eyes shone with something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was strength and something to rely on. "We'll get him back on his feet". A smile painted Dana's lips, and Lucy smiled back - a gesture that warmed Rebecca's heart. She was hopeful. Both for Desmond and for the bond slowly forming between her friends.

Shortly after the sentence was spoken, the three reacted to a noise coming from the other side of the two tables that was haphazardly placed in the middle of the cellar room. Shaun, who had decided to take a nap after his and Rebecca's adventure, was stirring where he lay. Muffled words and grunts left him before he sat up and stretched his arms and back. He apparently felt the girls staring at him, because he turned his head their way. Rebecca smiled sheepishly.

"Slept well?" Dana asked, getting nothing but a grumble for a response. He voted to lie back down again and Rebecca gave a chuckle. "Not a morning person?"

"Definitely not" Becca responded to Dana's question. "He can't to do any work before he's gotten his coffee, and his morning mood is not something anyone wants to tamper with. If not possibly that brother of yours. He seems like a tough guy"

"Should I be glad I haven't known him for long then?"

"His sarcasm is worse" Rebecca commented, making Dana snort and Lucy snicker.

"You're the one with bad temper when Shaun is being sarcastic" she said, pointing an accusing finger at Becca, who admitted herself defeated by raising her hands. Guilty as charged.

Silence didn't last long before Rebecca pointed them back to more pressing matters again. "So this doctor... Roland, was it?" she asked, looking at Dana.

"Ragland" she corrected. "He runs the morgue at St. Paul's Hospital". Lucy frowned at this and Shaun seemed to have been awakened from his slumber.

"The morgue?" he questioned, walking over to their side of the tables. Dana looked up at him for two seconds before Rebecca spoke again.

"Does he have any ties to the uuh... Black-whatever-they-are..?"

Like last time Rebecca had failed to remember the name of the black operations unit, one of the Mercer siblings corrected her. "Blackwatch" Dana said, tapping her knee once with her hand.

Shaun chimed in from where he stood. "No matter. Who is he and how do you know about him?". It sounded almost accusing in Rebecca's ears. She could understand his concern, but she didn't see the point in being impolite when asking. But then again, this was Shaun.

Dana took only a second to respond. "Alex were looking into this company he was working at, Gentek, and he mailed me his laptop where he'd stored all of his files. There's a shitload of suspicious information, and I found that Blackwatch had been watching this doctor named Bradley Ragland. Gentek did all sorts of fucked up shit and Ragland didn't want to be part of it, so he quit. The boss at the company, Raymond McMullen, was apparently the one who wanted him watched". She thought for a moment before looking at Rebecca again. "That's his only tie to Blackwatch".

Silence fell for a few moments as the three individuals melted the information. Lucy was the first one to speak. "Is that the only information there is about him?"

"No, but that's all I can remember from the file right now" Dana responded with a sort of sharpness to her voice. Rebecca saw Shaun give a rise of his eyebrows behind her back and frowned at him. He might be able to remember every single word in all the database entries he'd written for the Animus, but Dana might not have that kind of memory. Or she might be troubled by something else. Like the way the figuratively hovered over her to make sure she wouldn't slit their throats or something.

But before Rebecca could voice her thoughts, Dana rose from her place on the mattress and spoke up again. "I can run back up and see what more information there is. I might've missed something, or there could be more in related files" she said. She had her back toward Rebecca, so she couldn't see her face, but Shaun had a hard look in his eyes. The trust between them was evidently something that still needed work. Understandably, she guessed.

Not a second passed before Dana was on her way out. Rebecca noticed how she pressed her ear against the door before opening it - apparently a precaution after the time a zombie had almost eaten Rebecca alive. She shuddered from the memory. How did Alex pull that off anyway? It had felt like he was two yards away and he'd been at her side in less than half a second. And for that matter, what had actually happened back at the pharmacy, and why had he been there so conveniently to save her ass again? It had literally been a war zone outside the building, and there was no getting in or out without passing through it. Maybe she should ask him the next time they saw each other. Certainly, no one in their right mind would willingly pass through a war zone.


	21. Announcement

If you're a follower of this story, you've probably noticed the very long break between chapter 19 and chapter 20. I could name a lot of reasons for this, but first and foremost it was Halloween. Yes, it's been over a month since Halloween, but that holiday was what fucked up the posting schedule from the start. I became busy with traveling and preparing, so I couldn't sit down and actually work on the story.

After that, the inspiration kinda just died. Completely. Which is disheartening, because I have so many plans for this story. Some of them is probably almost a hundred chapters away. But it's about filling the gaps, coming up with the details and filling out the chapters with dialogues and mini events. I can't have everything happen at once, as that simply wouldn't work. The story needs to work itself up until reaching a specific plot point.

I stand by the fact that this was originally meant to be an Alex x Desmond fanfiction. It will happen, that much I can promise. But Desmond is currently unconscious, and the term 'love at first sight' isn't exactly an Alex thing. So what the story needs is some drama, plot points and events that will lead up to the moment where they realize the truth. I have an approximate time line in my head, so that's no biggie, but I need plot points and fillers between the plot points.

Well, I'm rambling so it's time to shut my trap.

I do not know when the next chapter will come out. I really want to get back into a weekly posting schedule, but as it looks right now with studies and family and inspiration and whatnot, such will not be possible. I apologize greatly to those who wanted the story to go on. I did too.

However, I have about four new ideas for original stories right now, and though those might not become something, they're still swarming in my head.

As for my other fanfictions, I'll update those when something pops up in my mind. Headcanons are hard to come by, sadly.

With all of that said, I leave with the promise of never again making any promises.

Take care.

 _~ Taru out xx_


	22. Ragland

**A/N:**

Well well, would you look at that. A wild chapter appeared!

This one took a while to finish, but it has actually be laying around in my drafts for a while. I wasn't sure if it would be good enough that I could come up with something to continue with in a chapter 22, but ch22 is actually halfway done, so... I guess things work out in the end.

There's actually a lot I would want to rant about when it comes to ANM, but that could potentially take up an entire chapter, if not two, so I'll hand you a 'link' to the ANM tumblr instead in case I post it there. Also be sure to check out the ANM discord for live chatting and behind the scenes!

anewmanhattan . tumblr . com

discord . gg/KkbbtFE

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 21 - Ragland  
**

* * *

Shaun sighed where he stood leaned back on the fold-out table. That Dana person felt really suspicious to him and he didn't like her. She'd seemed harmless when she first entered the cellar two days ago, and he'd beared with her, so to speak. But he didn't trust her. It didn't matter how nice she played or how much Rebecca liked her - Shaun felt iffy about the whole thing. Lucy seemed to have calmed down, but he had reason to doubt that she was actually okay with it. She'd been holding a blade against the stranger's throat for crying out loud. She wouldn't let her walls fall in such short time, would she? No, that was close enough to impossible. That's what Shaun kept telling himself at least. It was impossible for them to trust her.

He watched as Lucy rose from her seat and walked over to the still-unconscious Desmond on his mattress. She pressed two fingers to his throat, apparently checking for a pulse, and Shaun saw her expression grow tight. Things weren't looking good right now. If they lost him, they would potentially lose everything. Desmond was the key to finding the Apple, and with that a chance to stand up against the Templars. They all knew that, and none of them could ignore it any longer. They had to spring into action, and if that was to search up that bloody doctor that they'd found, then so be it.

"Any changes?" he asked over the table, watching Lucy give merely a shake of her head as a response. Well, that was troubling. He would have expected her to at least tell them that he'd gotten worse or maybe that his fever had gone up. But apparently none of those, or maybe she didn't catch his question right.

"I managed to grab some shots from the pharmacy when we were there" Rebecca spoke up from where she sat. She was quickly on her feet and walked over to the corner where they stored all their things and what they'd salvaged then and now. Lucy stayed crouched beside Desmond, but looked at Rebecca with part of her lip clamped between her teeth. "Not much, but I'm pretty sure it's adrenaline of some kind. No pun intended, but it's worth a shot, right?".

There was actually a slight twitch in the corner of Lucy's lips as she took the syringes that Rebecca offered her, and Shaun actually heard himself snicker. No pun intended, huh? Well, it became one, and though the timing was the worse they could've had, they found it humorous. What a complete trash situation they'd found themselves in. Desmond was on the verge of death for his own stupidity, Rebecca was probably too focused on the damn stranger and Lucy despised them both for it. And himself, out of work for the time being because of Desmond. Had he not been unconscious on the floor, he would probably have been in the Animus by now. But noooo, he just had to ruin it all for them. What a gigantic ego.

Shaun snorted and walked around the table to sit down in Rebecca's claimed chair. If things came down to worst, they better have a backup plan.

-xXx-

It didn't take long until the walkie-talkie on the desk sparked to life and Shaun's voice was projected through it. " _We ain't got all day, are you finding anything, or did you perhaps decide to take a coffee in these dire times?"._ Sarcastic as ever. Dana had gotten that from him by now. But then again, he had British roots and blood, and from what she had gathered, British people were prone to sarcasm. Wonder if there was any reason for that. Perhaps something in their genes…

Dropping that thought, Dana picked up the walkie and pushed down the top right button. "Depending on what you want to know, I found shit on both our doctor and more about Gentek. This laptop contains all sorts of fucked up information" she said, gesturing with her hand to the screen even if she knew Shaun wouldn't see. Guess it just happened naturally.

" _The place of your brother's work is not of interest to me right now. Desmond is. Now is this doctor of use to us or not?"_

"He quit before all hell broke loose. There would be something in these records about it if he'd gone back lately. I could ask Ale-"

" _Your_ _ **brother**_ _has clearly no interest in helping us out, else he would've done so by now. I'll go by myself"_

Dana wasn't sure what to respond. Clearly, Shaun had some major trust issues when it came to Alex. Not that she could blame him, she honestly wondered for herself sometimes. But it wasn't like she didn't trust him. She could trust her own brother … right..? The memory of his angered expression when he'd barged into the hideout the other day made itself remembered, and she bit her lip. Once again, the question ran through her head; What in the world happened to you, Alex?

" _Well, c'mon, I'm not a bloody mind reader, am I? Where's the doctor now?"_

"St. Paul's Hospital. He should be down in the morgue until this evening".

Dana caught herself holding her breath until the spark of the walkie told her that Shaun wasn't gonna say another word to her. Sheesh, that man had some major issues. They all did, of course, but wasn't trust something they had to share now that the world was crumbling around them? ' _Crumble'_ … Rumble was what her stomach did. She could use some food. Just a sandwich or maybe some canned beans to ease her worries. Yeah, that'd be good. A sandwich.

Dana rose promptly from the chair she'd been sitting on and walked over to the little kitchen area. After some digging through boxes, cupboards and some more boxes, she managed to scrape up the few ingredients needed for a simple sandwich with ham and cheese. It would have to do for now. Maybe the others had something to spare down in the cellar? The resources up here were basically sucked dry, and if they didn't have anything, or just didn't want to share, then she'd have to make a run for the store. There was a store close by, right? She glanced up at the map on the wall, confirming that there was a small grocery store barely a few blocks away. She doubted the chance, but unless she would be tasked with coming along to the doctor, the store was her next destination.

That was what she was thinking anyway, but something else disrupted her thoughts just then. The apartment door opened to reveal her brother in his own person, looking a little rough, but she guessed that was his normal now. ' _Normal'_ , pffft-

"Anything new?" Alex asked after closing the door behind him. Dana, with her teeth digging into the sandwich she'd just prepared, gave a small noise and walked over to her desk, somewhat sloppily sitting down in the chair. She could've sworn she'd seen something of interest while browsing through random files only a minute ago. She swallowed down the bite of bread and ham, and quickly rinsed with water she had stored in a bottle on the desk.

"Not certain if it's related to that McMullen creep, but I did find this just recently". She voted not to say how recently. He didn't say either this or that, but didn't walk over to her either. It was somewhat pressing. Him just standing there in his own corner, not speaking a word and just _expecting_ people to understand what he meant or wanted. Creepy thing was, they did. Or at least she did, and with her lips pressed into a line, she read the first sentence of the article she'd clicked into. "The militia, by order of Blackwatch, have brought an aircraft carrier into the Hudson River. Supposedly, it's carrying both people and vehicles, most probably jets. It smells fishy all over though, as this carrier - the USS Ronald Reagan - have been ordered to stay off the coast. They're planning something, Alex, I can feel it in my gut".

She saw his hand in the corner of her eye land on the desk a bit away from her, and weight was put on the backrest of her chair. She looked up briefly to see him focused on the screen. "And McMullen?" he asked.

"There's no names in the article other than this General Randall. I take it he's the boss of everyone involved in whatever the fuck is going on around here". Dana took a small bite from her sandwich and chewed silently while in thought. Alex was awfully obsessed with this McMullen guy. She didn't want to question his reasons for whatever he did, but she admitted to herself that she was curious. But some time, somewhere, she'd heard that curiosity could in worst case kill you. And this stuff that she was researching, it was dangerous. She'd have to tread carefully.

"Who's Ragland?" Alex asked suddenly, catching Dana's attention. She looked at him for a second, then at the screen to see what he was looking at, until remembering what she'd looked up for Shaun earlier. A noise left her as she navigated to bring the article up again and she swallowed the bite of sandwich so she could respond to him.

"Bradley Ragland. He was a doctor working for Gentek before-... Well, he quit in -93. Blackwatch have kept their eyes on him since". She paused for maybe five seconds before clicking her teeth together. "Damn, they've been on his tail for sixteen years. How paranoid are these guys?" she blurted, glaring at the screen and scrolling a few rows. Alex hadn't said a word since she started explaining, but now he straightened up from his hunkered position beside her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do they know?" he asked monotone, eyes drifting to glare at the wall in front of him. Dana blinked at him once, considering her options. Well, yes, she should probably tell him the truth, because anything else was wrong and would most probably backfire at a later point.

"Yeah. They have this sick dude who seriously don't look good at all. They asked if I knew anything cause apparently they're all secret and can't use the internet, so I tipped them about him…". She pressed her lips into a line and squinted lightly as she thought for a bit. Had it been a mistake to help them? She didn't want to keep information from them, seeing as the world was going to shit and everything they did was now close enough to a life or death matter. Alex could see that, right?

"Not that kind of doctor" he said, eyes still focused on the wall. She saw the clenching of his jaw before his hand went up to rub his temple, supposedly against a headache. Dana considered keeping her mouth shut, but despite everything, she cared for her brother. Possibly more than she cared for herself.

"How are you, Alex? You've been out there a lot lately". She wasn't sure if it was the right words to use, but it didn't seem to upset him.

"Karen is-.. She asked me to collect tissue samples for her to synthesize a cure for the virus". He paused only to cross his arms over his chest again. "First water towers, then hives. Damn bother" he said. Dana was silent for a moment. Hadn't she heard about those hives just recently?

She brought her attention back to the screen and clicked through a few windows before finding what she was looking for. She'd noticed that Alex turned on his heel and called for him to hold a moment. "There might be a way for you to get close to McMullen" she said, throwing a look over her shoulder to see if he was still there, then turned back to read from the news article. "Blackwatch scientific teams have been gathering at those hives recently. I bet they're working for McMullen. Go down there Alex, and see what you can find out".

Dana wasn't sure how much Alex had bothered to listen to, but when she turned to look at him again, he wasn't there. At a glance around the room, she could quickly conclude that he'd left without a word - again. It was getting a little sickening, but at the same time it was becoming somewhat normal. They hadn't had a very close relation when Alex had left for New York in their youth, and now even less so. And yet, she found herself disappointed. She thought dearly of her brother - or what she remembered of him. He'd changed. He'd changed so drastically from what she remembered when they still lived under the same roof, and she couldn't else but admit that she missed the days when she could say that she truly loved her Alex with all of her heart.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	23. Safe at Last

**A/N:**

Woop, a chapter! And three more are coming very soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Also, big thanks to my beloved Seruphenthalys for beta reading this chapter. It's greatly appreciated!

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 22 - Safe at Last  
**

* * *

Shaun turned the key to start the van before he'd even gotten seated and closed the door properly. He had talked to the doctor — a more or less one-sided conversation that he guessed was more of a threat than an actual conversation, but a success nonetheless. Now all that was left to do was to pick up Desmond and transport him to the morgue at the speed of light. Ragland had promised to make space for him, and even help them shuffle him into the facility. Sure, he had done it with a gun in his face, but there had been little to no time for doubt. It was a matter of survival in a world that had literally gone to shit. Shaun drove on and over multiple walking corpses on his way back toward Times Square. Civilians too, unfortunately, but he didn't think much about it for now. Desmond was first priority.

" _Hurry Shaun, Desmond won't be able to hold on for much longer"_ Lucy said through the earpiece he'd almost forgotten about in his rush away from the cellar.

"You know, if I could teleport, I most certainly would, but about a dozen zombies are currently in my way" he responded with his usual snark. He was driving as fast as he could through streets ruined by what resembled a war. It wasn't that far off. Zombies VS humans. Cliché.

When he finally did arrive in the relatively small parking space, the wheels screeched and he left the engine running to hurry into the building. He found Desmond in the animus with Lucy leaning over him, checking pulse and whatnot, and Rebecca and Dana were standing over Becca's laptop, looking at god knows what. Shaun closed the distance between the door and the animus in five long steps. "Pulse?" he asked, keeping his voice steady. Lucy only nodded, then gestured for the others to get up and help.

They managed to haul the unconscious Desmond into the back of the van with combined effort. Shaun took his seat in the front, Lucy sat in the back to keep an eye on their companion while Becca and Lucy stayed behind with an earpiece each to keep track of things. They clutched each other's hand as they watched the dusty white van speed out of the garage. "He'll be okay" Dana said as she practically dragged Rebecca inside. "Lucy said she'd update us when they arrive at the hospital".

"I'm just so worried about him. And not just his life, but the world—". Rebecca realized a second too late that she'd blurted something she wasn't supposed to tell. But at this point she wasn't sure if she cared. And besides, they could trust Dana. She wasn't a bad person, and barely knew what templars were when she first stepped into the door. Perhaps they could just spend their time with telling each other what their grand plans were. They obviously had some on either side, and in the best of cases, they could work on things together.

"Desmond isn't just Desmond" Rebecca started as she seated herself on the mattress she'd previously claimed. Dana sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders for comfort. "He has this special strain in his DNA that not many people have. I suppose I should start by telling you about genetic memories".

"Iʼm preparing for a shitshow" Dana said, an easy smile on her face. "It seems like that's what the world has come to. With Blackwatch and other super secret operations that aren't all that secret after all". Rebecca actually managed a snicker and leaned into Dana's embrace.

"You could say that. So in our DNA, memories from many thousands of years past are collected. Thanks to the Animus — which, by the way, is a brilliant invention — we can access those memories and live through them as if we were there for ourselves, instead of our ancestors".

"Duuuude, that is sick!"

"If you have any sickly cool ancestors, yeah. I don't, so it wasn't sick to be in that machine for me" she said, a soft snicker leaving her. Her ancestry was really nothing special. Mostly just regular folks that played golf or wrote journals about their daily life. Yeah, total nerds and partycrashers. "Desmond's ancestors are though, and this is where the history of assassins and templars come in".

"Armor, shields and swords?"

"Something like that. There was this one guy — Altaïr — that lived during the third crusade and he basically formed the entire brotherhood to be what it is today. He was a total asshole at first, but after making a mistake that devastated his whole mission he had his titles taken from him and had to be a novice again. That's the title all young assassins have when they first start learning".

Dana was listening intently to what Rebecca was telling her, actually interested in what she had to say. It wasn't just to indulge her, but she was honestly intrigued by the story. The two had shifted while speaking and was now sitting opposite to each other instead of beside, as they were before.

"Anyway, he eventually got his rank back and discovered this giant plot between his maester and the templars. This dude had apparently been on their side the entire time and Altaïr basically had to kill his own father. Because the guy had been raised there in the temple since his real father died when he was five or something".

"Sheesh".

"I know right? And we know that because we've seen it through Desmond's genetic memories. Well, I haven't, but Lucy has. Back when they were both captives at Abstergo Industries".

"Wait, I've heard of that company. Aren't they selling like medicine and shit?"

"Yeah, that's what they want you to think. But that's not the only thing they do. Abstergo is the face of the templars, and they supposedly have this grand plan of world domination. A new world or something. But the assassins are doing everything they can to stop them".

"Talk about a shitshow. Do you think Gentek could be part of the templars?".

"Wouldn't surprise me. What are they even doing in there anyway?"

"Fucked up shit, that's what they're doing. Alex worked there before this virus crap broke out. Apparently they're the ones behind it and he's trying to find key figures to interrogate and find out the truth. I think he's trying to stop them from doing any more damage than what's already been done".

"Shit man…".

"Yeah, shit. A big fucking pile of shit. Zombie shit". They both giggled at that, and then a silence fell. It was comfortable somehow, to just sit there for a bit after venting out all their worries. Dana had a feeling that there was more to it - there certainly was to hers. But they didn't have to talk more. They had both calmed down, and besides, Rebecca's tummy did plenty of talking for them. It was time for a sandwich before each of them would have to turn their undivided attention back to each of their topics of research.

-xXx-

Lucy slumped down in the wooden armchair in a corner of the room. She rubbed her eyes and pulled at the tie in her hair to let it loose. The blonde strands were messy from the work they'd done during the day and she combed through it with her fingers. There wasn't much of a choice but to take it easy for a while, but she didn't complain. Desmond was lying on an actual hospital bed, hooked up to both an IV and heartbeat monitor. Despite the doctor telling them that he wasn't specializing in the art of healing people, he knew a damn lot about human biology and what to do to repair the damage. Lucy had to admit that she lacked in that area. They'd been lucky. If not for Dana… Yeah, if not for her, they might've lost him. Him and their only chance to finally get close to finding The Apple. The Apple of Eden that would save them all… If the prophecy was true, that is, but still.

"You have no idea how much trouble you've caused us, do you? You're an egoistic idiot, Desmond" she scolded the still unconscious man. He looked more at peace now. Not the sweating, shivering, squirming heap that he'd been back in the cellar and in the van. It had been a full time job to keep him from thrashing too much. And still she sighed. She cared for him, and not just because of his role in all this. Scooting closer, she leaned forward to inspect his expression. Not the feverish scowl, but he had somewhat of a crease between his eyebrows. "What are you dreaming..?" she mumbled, reaching out a hand to gently rub the crease. He stirred a bit as she did, but didn't show any signs of waking up. Guess she'd have to wait and ask him later on what he had been up to in his dreams.

She sighed and leaned back in her seat again. Now that they knew he was stable, it was due time to give the news to the poor soul that had been left behind to watch their stuff. Rebecca must be biting her nails to stumps in her worry.

"Bex?" Lucy said as she pressed her index finger to her earpiece. It was barely a second before she heard a brief static noise and her friend's voice broke through.

" _Luce! Are you okay? Did you get to the doctor? Was he able to help Des—"_

"Relax. Yes, we got to the doctor in time, and he helped plenty". Lucy smiled softly into thin air, as if that gesture alone could soothe their worries. "Shaun had to use a bit of persuasion, but Desmond is stable now. Apparently there was this unused room down here containing all sorts of medical equipment".

" _Des is there now?"_

"Yes. A medical bed and everything. Vitals look okay, but he's gonna need a lot of nutrition when he comes to again. He was also dehydrated when we came here, but the doc gave him an IV, so he'll be alright"

Lucy heard her exhale on the other end, and there was a short moment of static. She took the moment to press her palm against Desmond's forehead. The fever was going down too, which was a good sign. He'd get better in no time.

" _And what about the doctor?"_ Rebecca asked eventually. Lucy grimaced. While he had agreed to help them, they couldn't be sure he would do it again. They also didn't know which side he was on or what he knew about what was going on around here. They had to know more before they could come to any conclusions.

"He won't say anything. We can stay here as long as we don't interfere with his business, but Shaun is trying to find out more about what he's doing". She paused. "I really hope we can trust him, Bex. We need more people on our side, and his expertise can be of use later".

" _So.. No need to fill out any forms?"._ Lucy heard the playful tone in Rebecca's voice, but she also understood that it was a serious question. They needed to stay low, and if any information fell into the wrong hands..

"It was a 'no questions asked' deal. We will have to break it if we want to know who this guy is, though. Shaun is working on it".

" _I hope you find something good. So tired of running all the time"._

"Don't forget the paranoia. So done with worrying about being backstabbed".

Rebecca groaned, but a soft laugh found its way to her lips as well. Which made Lucy smile in turn. They'd been worrying so much lately, it was truly a relief to get a few minutes to sit down. Especially now, with all that had happened with Desmond.

"Hey, I can ask Shaun to take watch and come back there. We could either hang out or something, or you can take the van back here. If you want to see him, I mean".

" _That would be awesome! Just be careful, okay? You have no idea what's out there, but it's big. The militia was screaming like babies about it when Shaun and I was out",_ a pause, " _But we'll talk when you get here.. About what to do. Be sure to get here, okay?"_

"I'll be there. Don't worry, Bex".

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	24. Untimely Revelations

**A/N:**

Chapter is late because I've been stressing all day over the fact that it's Alex's birthday :')

 _*cough*_

I've been revisiting both Prototype and AC Brotherhood, and I've noticed a few details that I've gotten wrong in previous chapters. Not gonna go edit the whole story - that's for another time - but I've made sure that it's more correct in this chapter. So I hope you enjoy that minor change and enjoy these new chapters overall.

Thank you for reading and all of that. Comments are what keeps this author's fingers tapping!

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 23 - Untimely Revelations  
**

* * *

Rebecca and Lucy had exchanged a few more words before they decided for radio silence as she talked things over with Shaun. Dana had been silent for their entire conversation, not even bothering to arch an eyebrow at what they had said. Didn't she care? Or maybe she was just too deep in her own things to notice what was happening around her. Which could be somewhat of a hazard in itself.

Rebecca shrugged that thought away and rose from her seat on the mattress-sleepingbag-thingamajig to see what her lookalike was doing. As she did, Dana exclaimed a gasp and gawked at the screen.

"Something wrong?" Becca asked as she rounded the table to see what could've been so shocking. Before she could though, Dana half-spun in the foldout chair, blocking her path and view.

"Some kid was just arrested for posting a video on YouTube". Rebecca had a hard time seeing why that would be so troubling. It probably happened all the time, judging by what she'd seen on that site in the past.

"So?" she prodded, arching an eyebrow and subtly leaning to the side in an attempt to see past Dana's head.

"So he's to be executed this morning! For a fucking video!"

"What?!"

"What!"

The two stared at each other for a moment, equally shocked and angered for the poor kid, Dana slowly shaking her head. Then she turned back to the screen and the article, Rebecca taking a step forward and leaning down to peer over her shoulder. The proximity was comforting.

"It says here that the video was reported as _'disturbing'_ and YouTube's staff took it down once they had taken a look at it. But apparently not before the militia got whiff of it, and they knocked on the kid's door only hours after it was posted".

Rebecca had been reading along in the article while Dana spoke, and nodded slowly before continuing to read aloud by herself. "The parents were told that the young man had been-.. Interfering with military business? The fuck does that mean?"

Dana turned her head to give her an arched eyebrows look of _'what did I tell you'_ before turning back to continue their reading. "The thirteen year old boy, named Jonathan Hennerby, has been brought to Fort Lewis for questioning and detainment. No visitors allowed".

"This article isn't public knowledge, is it?" Rebecca asked as the facts was slowly sinking in. Names, details and locations wouldn't be posted in any public newspapers unless it was more minor or any grand event with the president or something. This was about a child getting executed for a damn video. Which was already sick in the first place, but if things were as bad as they sounded, she had to know what he had gotten on tape that had been so _'confidential'_ that someone had to die for the information to stay secret.

Dana clicked her teeth. "Not exactly".

When she didn't say more, Becca leaned into her space, prompting her to continue. "Where, _'exactly'_?".

"I was digging and found some shady looking files. It's the shit usually going on at Gentek, but this goes deeper than any of that". She turned so quickly the chair scraped against the cement floor and their noses almost smacked together if Rebecca hadn't been quick enough to back up a step. "They're executing a kid! Murdering him in cold blood because of something **they** aren't able to control! What could be so damn dangerous for the world to know?!"

She blinked at the sudden rush of emotions running through her newfound friend. While they didn't know each other that well, she'd already gotten the impression that Dana was not an emotional girl. She had a tight leash on herself and was solid like a rock through almost anything. With a few exceptions.. But maybe something had happened in her past that had shook her to the core, and that's why she reacted so strongly. Sure, Rebecca was taken too, but.. She didn't know him, and there wasn't much they could do about it anyway. But..

She straightened. "Yes, what **could**?" she said, giving a subtle wink that she was certain Dana had seen. And like she'd hoped, it got the gears turning in the girl's head faster than she could say 'search'. Within seconds, Dana had tabbed down the article for later use and was digging through files and unlocking encryptions with motivation Becca didn't know she had. A few curses rolled past her lips before she exclaimed with pride and clicked on a specified file in the list. But before the video could start, she turned to Rebecca with a tight expression.

"You ready for this?" she asked. It would've been humorous, if not for the gravity of the situation. The boy was about to be executed. The content of this video could potentially scar them both, deeply and permanently. So instead of snickering and flicking her wrist as if it were nonsense, she pressed her lips together and nodded.

"For better or worse".

Maybe it was instinctive, or maybe it was not, but Rebecca felt a hand grabbing hers, and looked down to see the pale skin of Dana's touching hers. She squeezed back gently and leaned forward to give her undivided attention to the screen.

"Okay, it was filmed in.. Manhattan? Why would they take him all the way to Washington from-..".

"Probably says in the article".

"Probably, yeah, let's just watch".

And what they saw next **did** scar them both. Deeply and permanently. The first few seconds was a black screen, as if something was covering the lense. Audio was just white noise before a faint _'oh shit'_ could be heard, and the camera was uncovered to reveal a devastated part of upper Manhattan. Something that looked like fleshy red veins was covering the streets and parts of the buildings. As if a giant spider had attempted to get creative with its web and used live flesh instead of whatever sticky goo it would normally use.

 _'Dude, what the fuck'_ came a different voice from the audio, and the camera shifted to reveal a business-type building. Except it was covered with the thick red web, and the strings had grown together in places to shape giant blobs that seemed to be pulsating. Like a heart or.. Just like a heart. Something was…living or incubating in there. Something big.

Rebecca swallowed as the blob squirmed and writhed. Waves pulsed through it before it cracked open with a gruesomely disgusting noise and a giant, malformed beast burst out to land on unsteady feet on the ground below. Both voices in the audio used and simultaneously said _'duuuude'_ and _'that is sick'_ respectively. The beast tested its ugly feet and cracked its bulbous neck before turning a face that sent shivers down Becca's spine toward the camera. It looked absolutely hideous. And the roar it gave off made the blood curl in her veins. No wonder the video got taken down. This was some fucked up shit. And it was going on right here, in Manhattan.

Rebecca was reaching for the keyboard to pause or exit, but Dana quickly snagged her wrist. "Wh—"

"Look".

And she did. "Is that..?"

"I'd recognize that damn jacket anywhere"

"What is he—"

But before she could finish the question, the camera moved so quickly, Becca figured the guy holding it must've been hit by something, or maybe pulled. _'Oh shit man!'_ said the first voice again as the camera fell to the ground. The edge of a building and a smoky red sky was all that could be seen for a moment, then a distressed boy's face came into view. _'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!'_ he kept saying, bordering on falsetto as he picked up the camera. Things were shaking and rumbling, and panting could be heard in the audio. Roars and clashing filled the background.

The camera soon turned to show part of the guy's face. He was dirty and sweating, and his eyes were red and puffy. _'Ronny is dead man'_ he whispered hoarsely. Rebecca moved a hand over her mouth. _'That thing got him and he's fucking dead'_.

"My god.." Dana whispered softly. Becca instinctively moved a hand to her shoulder and felt cold fingers over hers. "That poor kid".

But the video was far from over. Ronny's friend turned the camera away from him to reveal a dark hallway. At the end was a light and the guy slowly moved toward it, scraping sounds filling the audio, as if he was crawling on his hands and knees. _'He's out there man, he's out there'_ the guy was saying, voice filling with panic. _'He's out there and those things are fucking eating him! They're eating my friend! Those things— those ain't human, they ain't human man'_. The camera moved around a corner to peer out on the streets. Like the guy was saying, a body was lying on the ground, and two malformed humanoid creatures was tearing their clawed fingers into the flesh before ripping pieces out and shoving into their greedy mouths.

Rebecca was feeling nauseous. This couldn't be real, could it? But if it wasn't, why would the militia get their hands so deep in it? That boy died, and the other was about to be executed.

 _'Stop that! Stop eating on Ronny! Go away!'_ the boy in the video cried. The two scavengers didn't seem to care about his wailing, but something moved in the corner. Ronny's friend screamed in pure and utter fear before taking his camera with him as he darted out of his hiding place. A roar from one of those big things echoed through the audio and the video feed shook before getting dark. Only a second passed before things shifted back into view. The guy was panting and wailing. He was certain that he was doomed.

He was on the ground now, and he was filming what was going on a few meters away. The big thing had chased away the scavengers and swallowed Ronny whole. His friend screamed in vein from behind the camera and the creature turned toward him. It roared, everything got silent. Just as they thought it was done with him, something dark and heavy smacked into the asphalt barely a meter to the left of the creature. A cloud of dust and debris obscured the view, but it cleared quickly when the big thing roared. The boy behind the camera hyperventilated.

Rebecca's insides dropped through the floor when she saw what the kid had seen. That black thing was definitely Alex. His jacket was impossible to mistake for another. But the two white bands on his left arm disintegrated as it squirmed and shifted and—

"Oh my god" Becca breathed before turning away and bending over the trashcan so conveniently placed beside the desk. Her insides turned inside out and she gagged and sputtered, emptying the contents of her stomach. She didn't want to watch more, didn't have to, but something compelled her. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and turned back toward the computer screen in time to see her friend's brother — she couldn't think of him as 'Alex' right now — whack the creature over the head with some metallic-looking expendable whip thing protruding from his shoulder, where his arm should've been. The creature flung out with one of its front limbs with a snarl, giant claws missing not-Alex with a bare inch. The whip disappeared, replaced with a normal-looking arm, and he backed up a step to avoid another fling of a clawed limb.

The guy holding the camera whispered something unintelligible, the video feed shook and blackened for a moment, then picked back up in time to show not-Alex thrusting his palms toward the giant creature. An abnormal gust of wind seemed to fling it backwards multiple meters. Where it might've come from was impossible to tell. It was out of nowhere. Unless..

But that couldn't be possible! It shouldn't and it wouldn't on this plane of existence. No, never. Rebecca refused to believe. And yet, there was no other logical explanation. There **was** no logic. This entire thing spreading over Manhattan wasn't logical. It was as if taken from a horror movie, and it all had been slapped into their faces. Unreal, fucking terror.

The thing fell on its back, squirmed for a minute and roared. But before it could have any change of getting back up on its feet, not-Alex flicked his right wrist and — oh fucking hell — his fingers turned into two-inch blades in the blink of an eye. He pounced on the beast, pressing his hand against what might've been its forehead and jammed those blades into its brain. It stilled, becoming limp. He killed it. No-Alex had killed that giant beast. With his…fingers that wasn't fingers. **_Fucking terror._ **

_'Oh fucking damn'_ said the guy in the video over audio, and the camera feed shifted as he stood up. Not-Alex barely had to move an inch before the guy screamed and the camera turned to his feet as he ran as fast as he could away from the scene.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


	25. What You Are

**A/N:**

This one was supposed to go live on Tueday, but some things got in the way, and here we are.

-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A New Manhattan**

 **Chapter 24 - What You Are  
**

* * *

The silence that stretched through the cellar when the video abruptly ended was suffocating. She wanted to puke. She'd already done that a few seconds ago, but the garbage can was screaming for her undivided attention. Long and careful and deep attention, and it was what she gave it. On her knees on the cold hard floor, she retched and coughed until it felt like her intestines themselves would pour out of her body. It was both disgusting and relieving at the same time. She hadnʼt felt this sick and ill since before her skiing accident. And that was years ago now. And for some reason, she felt a tinge of loss as she thought back.

Because in this very moment, sheʼd give anything she could get her hands on to be back on a snowboard. Away from all of the death and chaos. Away from the heart shattering facts and away from the freakshow that sheʼd gotten herself into. How the fuck did she end up here anyway? Was it fate or just a freak accident?

As the silence stretched, Rebecca wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before slowly rising to her feet. She needed pounds of water and preferably an extra large pizza. Not that she expected to get the latter anytime soon, but she could always dream. There was no need to keep dreaming about water though, because they still had some reserves tucked in among all the other supplies. A shiny metal container with screw-cap that she took generous gulps from before her lungs complained and she had to stop for a breath of air. While it soothed her throat, her mind and nerves were still in shock.

"Fuck, damn.." she mumbled while sitting down heavily on her sleeping bag. It wasnʼt as comfortable as she mightʼve wanted it to be right now, but it would have to do. It was enough to sit on and possibly pass out if things came down to it. She still had to get it into her head that not-Alex was—

"Shit just got a whole lot crazier".

"You saw it too.." Dana responded suddenly. Rebecca had almost forgotten that she even existed for a moment. "You-.. That shit was real. Itʼs fucking real".

Understandably, Dana was even more in shock than she was. This was…this was her brother. And she had just witnessed him turn into-... Whatever the fuck that was. A freak of nature…

Dana was pale. More so than usual, and her eyes looked void of any residual energy. This had taken a toll, and exhaustion would very likely set in soon. Exhaustion, disbelief and…heartbreak. It was likely anyway. For both of them. Which meant they would have to take care of each other, starting with getting them both hydrated and rested. Yeah, that would do.

"Here" Rebecca offered as she held out the water container after standing up and walking around the table. She noticed her fingers shaking, but couldnʼt clutch the bottle to still it before it was taken from her grip and uncapped. Dana took barely a small mouthful at first, but then gulped and gulped as if sheʼd been famished for weeks. Not wanting to seem like a hovering creep, Rebecca went back to her sleeping bag and sat down again. Time and space was probably what they both needed to process what they had just seen. It was a lot to swallow. Too much.

She was too deep in her thoughts to notice when Dana walked over. Pale hands were put over her own fidgeting ones, making her look up into similarly pale eyes. But she noticed that they had gotten some spark back into them, and it made her smile as a warmth spread through her chest and abdomen. Dana was strong. Rebecca didnʼt have to worry. Not more than she should worry about herself, at least. Right..

"Dana, I—".

"No. Youʼre alright" she broke off while shaking her head, then settled on the bag beside her. Rebecca didnʼt understand what she meant. Alright what? Did Dana think she was about to apologize? No, that wasnʼt her intention, but what was there to say at this point? What **had** she been about to say? It was already gone from her mind, and she doubted that it would come back anytime soon, if ever.

"Wanna go up top?" Dana asked, hand resting on Beccaʼs knee. She didnʼt answer for a second, not sure what she wanted or what _'up top'_ meant in this case. Perhaps she took it as a prompt, or maybe not, but when the silence stretched for more than a few seconds, Dana continued to speak, "Or maybe to my place. I have a.. A bed, if you want one".

Rebecca answered perhaps a little too quickly than she was supposed to. "Oh, no.. No, I'm fine, it's— I'm good here" she said, fiddling with her hands in the air and shaking her head and nodding in turn. Her index finger caressed the green cover of the sleeping bag they both were sitting on. Dana just nodded, and maybe there was a gulp somewhere in there. Rebecca gulped, that was for certain. And then they sat in silence again. Not pressing, but perhaps a bit awkward.

They shifted over time, Dana pulling her knees to her chest and hugging her knees, chin resting on top. Rebecca crossed her legs and leaned an elbow on her knee, cheek propped in her palm. She fiddled with a loose thread, twirling it back and forth and around her fingers. Multiple things went through her head right then, but there was one question she hadn't been able to shake. "Do you think we'll ever get out of this mess?"

The other black-haired seemed taken aback by the question, or maybe that she was speaking at all. She blinked, opened her mouth and closed it again, then managed to get her thoughts together. "Don't ever ask yourself that" she scolded with a frown. She let go of her own knees and turned to fully face Rebecca. Hands cupped her face. "Of course we will. You can bet your ass that we fucking will".

Again, that strength. Rebecca made a mental note to ask if she could borrow some of it. A smile slowly crept onto her face, and Dana mirrored it. But as if she wasn't entirely convinced already, she kept her hold and leaned barely half an inch closer. "Rebecca. We'll get through this. I promise" she said. If any profanities wanted to slip from her mouth, she kept them at bay, and Becca was glad for once. Maybe it suited badass, foul-mouthed Dana, but it didn't suit the moment.

Though, just as quick as it had started, it ended, and it did so with the screechy whining sound of the cellar door opening. Their nerves were immediately set on edge, more so than usual, but they both exhaled when Lucy poked her head inside. "You guys have to come up with a code knock or something" Dana said, quickly rising from her seat and nonchalantly brushing off some invisible dust from her arms and thighs.

"She, uh, she has a point, you know" Becca stammered, suddenly tense about the three of them being assembled again. She could guess that Lucy had similar feelings, if perhaps on a higher level.

Dana trodded over to the computer again, clearing her throat as she sat down. Rebecca didn't fail to notice the sideways glare that Lucy gave her, but nothing more was said while the blonde checked their supplies and rehydrated herself. Once she got back into their proximity however, she narrowed her eyes and shoved her hands into her sides, scowling at them both in turn. "Alright, I know the situation isn't perfect, but what is **wrong** with you two?" she demanded. The elephant in the room was too big to hide or deny, Rebecca saw that, but bit her lip. What the fuck was she supposed to say?

"There was an accident" Dana said quickly, closing her eyes and rubbing her face for a moment. Rebecca barely had enough time to register that she pressed a few buttons on the keyboard in the same movement.

"Wait, in here?". Lucy's eyebrows shot up to her forehead and she pointed to the floor.

"No, no, it was—".

"Some kid died" Rebecca provided, tipping her head to look at her toes. She gripped her knees and caressed the fabric of her pants with her thumbs. Fidgeting. Stop fidgeting.

"What kid? Where? Did you see him?".

"Vancouver; some highway" Dana responded briefly to Lucy's questioning. Perhaps she wanted to get it over with, maybe she was tense, or maybe she wanted to cover for Becca. Either way, she was grateful. Talking was exhausting right now.

But Lucy narrowed her eyes. "How do you know this?".

"Dana—".

"It's all over the news" she interrupted, shooting a quick glare at Rebecca before turning in her seat in front of the computer. Lucy cautiously walked over to stand a few feet behind the chair and squinted at the screen. Rebecca felt when the color drained from her face. The video. Lucy couldn't know, she couldn't—

But there was no reaction. Dana calmly pointed to the screen as she seemingly read the introducing paragraph of an article. "James Colby, age 6, died in BC Children's Hospital only hours after experiencing a traffic incident involving three cars and a minivan, about two miles east of Vancouver, Canada".

"That **is** unfortunate.. He wasn't even in school yet". Lucy was frowning now, apparently distracted from her suspicion enough to focus on something else — like a deceased child. Rebecca wasn't sure how she pulled it off, but damn was she glad that Dana had managed to keep Lucy away from their previous topic. Then she remembered the keystroke. She must've kicked it up with that. Damn, that was smooth.

"Oh, and I know you guys are like down here hiding or some shit, so I encrypted the connection" Dana said smartly, turning her head to look at Lucy, then Rebecca and down on the keyboard. "I'm using a similar one upstairs, since.. Well, me and my brother are sorta keeping our heads low. Some bad guys and stuff. You know the deal".

The blonde blanked for a second before her face broke into an expression that could only be described as horrified confusion. She opened her mouth, closed it again, and blinked. Rebecca spoke up from where she sat on her sleeping bag before Lucy could get any words out.

"What she's saying is that if anyone would try to find us through tracking of our technology or online location history, they won't succeed. The connection is invisible, so they won't be able to find it".

"How can you presume to know what she's saying?". It was said in an accusing tone, and sky blue eyes looked right at, and almost through Rebecca. It was unsettling. Lucy had never questioned her loyalty like this before. But she quickly gulped down the dryness in her throat and painted some kind of a smirk onto her lips.

"I programmed the animus two point oh, remember? Tech terms and stuff kinda stick. Don't you remember some too? Spending all that time in front of the animus one must have gave you something"

Lucy took a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes, I remember" she said slowly, nodding and shifting her weight from foot to foot. "I'm just stressed. Everything with Desmond, and-.. I'm sorry".

"Hey, it's fine" Rebecca assured, rising from her seat and walking up to place her hands on her friend's shoulders. She looked into her eyes and smiled softly. "You said he was stable, right?"

"He **is** stable"

"See? Then there's nothing to worry about". Which was the biggest lie she could ever conjure at that point. They had tons to worry about. Everything from the relationship between them, her trust for Dana, the templars, Desmond, the soulless corpses wandering around Manhattan, the end of the world, and—

"Yea, yea, you're right" Lucy broke off her thoughts and Rebecca made sure to keep the smile painted on her face. "You know, I-.. I just remembered I forgot something in-in the van". And then she was out, and Rebecca's worries resumed.

 _Alex._

What in the fucking hell would she tell Lucy? She already didn't trust him, and if she ever found out what he was — what he could do.. Would she ever let him go near any of them again? And what would happen to Dana? Lucy would definitely tell Shaun, and Shaun would make for them to leave Manhattan in an instant. And sure, they would leave the chaos behind, but they would also be leaving Dana. And Alex. Alex who was a—

Tears burned behind her eyelids. She bit her lip and tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. It was a dark gray riddled with little cracks and holes. Dust particles swam in the air. The soft light from the oil lamps flickered to make the shadows dance. Something creaked softly in the silence.

"Hey" came Dana's voice behind her. A warm hand touched her elbow, and she turned just as the first tear began its gentle roll down her left cheek. "We'll be fine. I told you".

"It's not that I'm worried about, Dana". Rebecca swallowed, trying to get rid of the persistent lump in her throat. Dana squeezed her elbow softly and laid her other hand on her bicep.

"Rebecca—"

"No, I don't know! What am I—"

Dana easily silenced Becca with a finger against her mouth. "Let me speak". The finger trailed and the hand it belonged to cupped Rebecca's cheek. Thumb stroked away the tear before it could roll further. It felt like an eternity before anything happened after that. The two of them just looked at each other for a while. Dana smiled and a warmth began to spread in Becca's chest.

"Look.. Whatever he is now, he's still my brother. He's still Alex, and you're still you. Lucy is still Lucy, and she's still your best friend in the whole damn world. And Desmond.. Well, he's stable, and he's your friend as well. A friend who needs you. And I'm not planning on going anywhere — not that Alex would ever allow me to if I so was starving to death — so I will still be here when you come back".

Now Rebecca definitely smiled, and a laugh even made its way past her lips. A short, sputtering laugh at Dana's humorous comment about Alex's protective nature, and her stranger-friend smiled back so brightly and so perfectly that she laughed all over again. They embraced each other for a moment, and then Rebecca made her way out through the door where the van was waiting.

* * *

 **To be continued...**


End file.
